Even Shinobi Shopping Can Be Boring [Open RP]

[Tanuki Rinko]

Seikou tugged lightly at her father's sleeve as they made their way through the shopping distract. It was rather busy today, for a reason the little girl couldn't rightly say. All she knew was if her grip slipped, she would be lost in the crowd with no clue where to go. She knew they were seeking out materials for her debut in the academy, but her father hadn't disclosed what items they would need, nor where to find them. She opened her mouth to ask, but quickly clamped it shut upon remembering her father's teachings. Ladies are quiet, calm, and only pose questions when absolutely necessary. Seikou recalled her mother asking plenty of questions over the years, so why couldn't she? The tiny girl shook her head, pushing such thoughts out of her mind. She looked up at the back of her father's head, wondering if he had used some shinobi power to read her mind. She swore he could do that.

When he didn't turn to address her, Seikou relaxed her shoulders a bit. Lectures were no fun, especially in public. Trying to distract herself from the nagging questions about her father's ideals, the Nanjirou child eyed her surroundings. The view wasn't great, however, due to her diminutive height. The sea of chests and stomachs made it difficult to see the shops, and any attempt to crane her neck was met with an elbow dangerously close to her face. Edging closer to her father, Seikou looked upwards for relief from the slight claustrophobic feeling creeping in on her. There, she spotted a hyper boy wiggling on a large man's shoulders. With a hopeful gleam in her eye, Seikou glanced back to her father and gave his sleeve a stronger tug. "Papa, might you put me on your shoulders? I cannot see." She instantly regretted her request as her father gave her a judgmental look. "Now now child. You know it is unlady-like to ride atop someone's shoulders, especially in your current garb." Seikou bit the inside of her lower lip for a moment before responding. "Yes Papa, sorry Papa."

After a few more minutes, parent and child reached a break in the crowd near the plaza fountain. Seikou's father lifted her gently, just enough to help her sit upon the fountain's rim. "It is rather busy today, is it not? How about you stay here while I finish the shopping, my dear. I will be but a moment. Remember to..." He trailed off to allow Seikou to finish. "Stay clean. Stay still. Stay delicate." The man gave his daughter an approving pat on the head before disappearing into the crowd. The Nanjirou girl resisted the urge to pout her lip as she spoke to herself. "But all those things are so boring." With more room around her, Seikou scanned her surroundings again, searching for someone or something to entertain her.

WC: 480
[MFT]

 

[Takenaka Karasu]

Karasu pushed past his mother standing in the doorway of the house and walked out into the busy street. He lethargically stretched his arms up into the air, shaking off his laziness. People walked past in blobs, talking with one another, and creating a low rumble that somehow was calming in the crisp morning air. Karasu turned back to his mother with a smile. "Mother, when are we going?" His mother reeled around with a scowl and responded. "Let me finish talking with Sensei, Karasu! Just go shopping or something, the stores are right over there."

With a skip in his step, Karasu turned back around and walked out into the mob of people walking down the street. As he walked, with his hands behind his head - probably taking up more space than he needed to - he said hello to a few people he recognized from the Academy. In his mind he went over which shop to go into. Clothes? No, already bought some new ones yesterday? Food? Still full from breakfast, but I could go for some cookies! The young boy smiled and picked up the pace, opening up his coin bag to see how much money he still had left. A few coins jingled around inside as he walked, just enough for some snacks.

These were the last few, calming days before he'd have to be back in the academy taking classes. He had wanted to hang out with his friends today, but they were all out doing things with their families. He wasn't too down however, as he knew he'd have most of the day up to his devices and that'd he'll likely meet some people he knew - and maybe even some he didn't. As he turned the corner at the end of the street it opened up into a large plaza with a fountain in the middle. He walked over to it, hoping to be able to sit down and survey the area - maybe find some friends from school out and about. As he approached however, he found the majority of the the rim was occupied except for a few spots near a small girl with long black hair and auburn eyes. She looked to be about his own age, but Karasu was sure he hadn't seen her at school before. He sat next to her, and turned to her with a smile. "Hello. I'm Karasu. I haven't seen you at the Academy before, are you going to be joining it sometime?"

WC: 416

 

[Tanuki Rinko]

Seikou noticed the boy walking towards her and stared for a few seconds, only to drop her gaze with a blush. Uh oh. I cannot remember what Papa says is proper of a lady. I think I am supposed to make eye contact, but would that not be staring? I definitely know staring is unlady-like. Hmm... When the boy plopped down beside her and introduced himself, she finally settle on eye contact being the preferred form of interaction. At his question, her face lit up and she nodded. "Yeah! I'm gonna..." She trailed off before placing the tips of her fingers against her mouth and giving a small cough. "I mean, yes, indeed. I shall be attending the academy within the next few days. Papa is helping me get the stuff I need." Feeling her polite aura leaking into snobbish, Seikou pulled her hand down and gave a small bow of her head. "I am Nanjirou Seikou. It is a pleasure to meet you." After her introduction, Seikou turned her head away for a moment, cupping her cheeks with her hands. Does this make him my senpai? But he must be close to my age...but did Papa not say boys age differently? He could be so much older than me! Oh my...

Finally snapping out of her thoughts, the young girl hopped to her feet. When in doubt, honorifics out! "I hope you take good care of me Karasu-senpai." She gave a full-body bow quickly before continuing. "Papa told me I need to stay here while he goes shopping, but I am sure he cannot complain if I only go a short distance." Forgetting the air of respect she was supposed to give off, Seikou reached for Karasu's hand to pull him to his feet. "Let's get something to eat and become friends! That will make going to school a whole lot better!"

 

[Takenaka Karasu]

Karasu listened intently as the girl greeted him. The girl, Nanjirou Seikou, seemed a little odd or perhaps a little unsure of herself or of how to address him. She was a definitely a lot more prim and proper than Karasu was, but he'd never spoken with someone who was of noble birth, or high class, or anything like that - and she sure seemed like she was to him. She wore fancy, very-lady like clothes that looked more expensive than Karasu's wardrobe combined - not something Karasu cared about though, he didn't much care for fancy or formal clothes. Something in the back of his head reminded him that'd heard of the family name Nanjirou, but he couldn't quite grasp where he'd heard it before. She addressed him as her senpai, so Karasu smiled and blushed a bit. He grabbed her hand when she offered it, and she pulled him up to his feet. Smiling widely as she suggested they could be friends, he said "Sure, that sounds great! You can always use more friends, right?" He grinned, while scratching the back of his head. "You can just call me Karasu-kun, no need to be so formal," he said while laughing. "It'd be great to grab something to eat!" Karasu was glad to make another friend, she seemed like someone who was probably a lot stronger than she appeared. But that was just his guess.

He turned to her as they walked slowly across the plaza towards some of the more food-related stores. "What are you looking forward to learning the most at the Academy? I like most of the lessons, and of course getting to hang out with my friends!" He quickly darted his eyes back and forth across the plaza, looking for any of the teachers from the academy before turning back to her and talking in whisper. "Just between you and me, I think this will be my last little bit of school before I graduate." He said, a little cheekily. "Anyways, what do you want to eat? Do you have a favorite food?"

WC: 349

 

[Tanuki Rinko]

Seikou nodded vigorously at Karasu. She was happy to make a new friend who was already attending the academy. Sure, she had her cousins that she could question, but any civilized conversation with them devolved into rough housing and noogies. Not that she minded. She enjoyed a good tussle with the boys of her household. It made her feel tough when she could get them into a solid headlock. When Karasu offered to let Seikou refer to him more casually, she had to turn around to hide her blush. Cupping her cheeks yet again, thoughts flashed in her mind. Karasu-kun?! He will let me speak to him so casually? Is that not the first step to courtship? Will he finally be the boy who will play house with me?! Seikou slightly slapped her cheeks in hopes to hide their flush before flipping back to her new friend. "Something to eat, yes!"

Seikou eyed the stalls while occasionally glancing to the boy who kindly walked at her pace. She wondered what kind of food they should acquire. She was a fan of bready foods, but would Karasu be? It would be sad if they didn't share a taste in food, or hobbies. Friends definitely need to have at least one thing in common. Karasu's voice forced Seikou to focus back on him. She pondered his question, but took the time to furrow her brows when he mentioned he'd probably be graduating soon. She was certainly happy for him, but that meant her new friend would be out of her reach. Karasu didn't seem like he'd be interested in the medical branch like her father, which meant he'd probably be away on missions just as often as her mother. Meaning he would have no time to play house with her. The Nanjirou pushed such selfish thoughts away and lightly clapped her hands together. "I am not quite sure what I want to learn. Papa is very good at healing. He has used his amazing powers to make my cuts and scrapes disappear. But Mama is super cool with a sword! She's all like POW and SWISH and WOOSH!" Seikou mimicked swinging a sword like she'd seen her mother do during training. Realizing she was acting particularly animated, Seikou placed her fingers to her lips and coughed. "Ah. I mean... Learning to wield a weapon would also be useful."

The little girl was relieved when Karasu asked her what she wanted to eat. He had been exceedingly nice to her so far, so this question must mean he wouldn't judge her answer. A particular stand caught her attention and she pointed to it. "I like crepes! I like every kind of crepe. I just want to eat all of them, but I can't...can't eat every crepe..." She dwindled off, realizing how silly and overexcited she was getting about a simple, flat pastry. To try and distract Karasu from her embarrassing behavior, Seikou posed a plethora of questions to him as she tugged the boy to the food stand. "What is it like in the academy? What is your favorite element? What is your favorite weapon? Is it true that if you spin around three times in the boy's bathroom and whisper 'by the mullet of Ayumu' that the Raikage rises from the toilet?" She looked to Karasu with anticipation.

[WC: 556]
[MFT]

 

[Takenaka Karasu]

Karasu walked happily beside Seikou, scanning the stalls while he listened to her. He was excited to make a new friend, and while he was friends with a few other girls at the Academy, most of his friends were boys so he was doubly excited to be friends with another girl. She seemed very ladylike and graceful, and Karasu couldn't but think she was kind of cute too. He smiled purely at her as she talked about her father's and mother's skills in healing and kenjutsu respectively. When she finished, he spoke up about his parents as well. "My parents aren't ninja or anything, but I still think they're super cool!" He laughed as he spoke. "My father and uncle own a flower shop around here, while my mother is working at a market right now. My father collects rare flowers and presses them so he can put them in books back at home, you should see them! There are some really cool looking ones!"

He laughed happily when Seikou makes mimicked sword slashes, then said "That's so cool!" He'd never really had an interest in swords but he had to admit he thought it was super cool. He was going to comment about her preference of crepes when she tugged him over to stand and barraged him with questions, and he did his best to answer. "Well I really like the academy! It's always fun to learn history, and geography, and literature, and play sports, and learn new jutsu, and make new friends, and just like learn you know?" He took a breath to calm himself down, then smiled and continued. "I love all the elements! My dream is to learn them all! I don't really have a favorite weapon though, I'm not all that great at taijutsu and all that," he laughed sadly. "Uhm. I don't know about that last part..." He looked up at the menu with inquisitive eyes. Strawberry crepes, peach crepes, apple crepes, cranberry crepes, and many more. Karasu had had crepes before, and to be honest he hadn't much liked them - but to be nice to Seikou, who seemed to enjoy them a lot, and just to see if a different flavor would be better he ordered one. "Hi, can I get a strawberry crepe please? No whip cream please." he said with a smile. He waited for her to order, then turned to her with a devilish grin. "My turn! What are looking forward to studying? What jutsu are excited to learn? What's your favorite element? What techniques do you hope to get really good at?"


WC: 433

 

[Tanuki Rinko]

Ah, so he was one of those kids, the kind that came from humble beginnings. Seikou didn't mind, but she couldn't imagine what it must be like to have parents that were just citizens. Did they try to urge Karasu down a specific branch? Were they more lenient with his training? Did he only have teachers to turn to when he had a question? She wished to ask, but thought better. That subject felt a bit too personal for now. Instead, she focused on his answers to her more acceptable inquires. Her eyes widened a bit when Karasu mentioned his favorite classes. She couldn't deny that she assumed he'd be more interested in the shinobi classes specifically, as he seemed a more active kind of kid. To think an energetic boy like him could appreciate the calmer lessons. She blushed in guilt from her assumption, hiding it with fervent nods at his ongoing answers.

It became their turn to order in no time, and she gave a bow to the store owner. "A banana crepe please." She fished out a small coin purse covered in blue irises. After paying for her food, she happily trotted to a nearby bench and patted the seat beside her. Seikou was about to take a bite, but stopped the moment she realized that would be rude. She paused to give Karasu time to sit down and take a bite himself. In the meantime, she answered his questions. "I am unable to do medical jutsu yet, but that is definitely something I wish to learn. So before then, I probably will focus on easy stuff like Taijutsu. Papa helped me try elemental jutsu the other day. He said I am really good at earthy stuff. But..." She trailed off, giving a dejected pout of her lips. "I could not do anything with wind. Papa says it is common for people to never be able to use a certain element. It still stinks to know that though..." Seikou's eyes began to tear up. She knew she should be glad that it was only one element she couldn't learn, but it wasn't fair that not everyone had that problem. She nibbled on her crepe, hoping that the treat would comfort her. She glanced at Karasu. She was tempted to ask him if he had something he couldn't do, but she was afraid to know the answer. If he had the same issue as her, she'd feel bad for bringing it up. But if he was adept at everything, that would only make her jealous, perhaps even angry. She didn't want that, especially not after they had declared each other friends.

To avoid such a tragedy , she tried to change the subject. Forgetting all about manners, Seikou wiped her slightly runny nose on her sleeve before pointing at a small shop selling stuffed animals. "What's your favorite animal Karasu-kun? I really like monkeys. There's a really cute one around here that Papa says is a performer. Her name is Ukimiki and she can do flips, and climb, and juggle, and...and...and dance!" Seikou was trying to remember all the fun things she'd seen the little monkey do, but was drawing a blank due to her over-excitement. Though her nose was still a bit red from almost crying, Seikou's eyes were again filled with eagerness to hear what Karasu had to say.