Grown up, but still a kid.

[Hase Aki]

It had been a long road, that lead her back here. She had been a small girl, and it seemed like only yesterday that she was walking around this place, accidentally exploding it all and learning to fight off genjutsu. She had walked up to what would be a park next to the school, had it been a real school and not one where people were taught to slaughter each other. So of course, instead of a park it was a training ground. Pock marks littered the landscape, Dummies stood still and lifeless, as a few kids practiced shuriken tossing and fireballs on them. She felt a bit bad for them, knowing a walking puppet herself. The thought faded quickly though as she remembered back to when she was furiously attempting to not explode in the forest. Her childhood was one of exciting explosions and happy feelings, mixed with a sense of dread at an inevitable exploding death. Here she sat, on a bench outside a training ground, watching quietly as kids practiced and played. She leaned back on the bench, leaning her head back and letting the sunlight above her, warm her body. She was wearing a mask that looked oddly human, with markings on the cheeks, but it wasn't her real face. The mask did get warm however, as the sun bounced off.

She was an ANBU, and had taken it upon herself to conceal her identity at all times while out in the world, taking to heart the teachings of the branch. However, her personality had never changed and her personality bled through in every way. Instead of her hair being a wild rainbow of colors, it had moved to her clothes and her hair had taken on a rather dull brown tone. She adorned a pair of headphones, and had a small tune rolling through them, something poppy and upbeat. She made out an exacerbated sigh as she wondered what adventures the day would bring, about to fall asleep in the peace of kids trying their best not to die training alone. It was rare for her to find such a moment of peace, as even she couldn't let herself be that way very often. It was a curse of her bloodline, and who she was as a person.

[MFT]

 

[Arata]

Arata watched the ANBU from afar as he sat on one of the other benches in the training ground. He had come here an hour prior to practice shuriken techniques along with the children and provide guidance. It was something he enjoyed in his free time, watching the young academy students get the hang of a jutsu or land a shuriken throw perfectly on a dummy. It made him feel as warm as the sun currently beating down on his skin. Taking a break, he had sat down. When the ANBU entered the area she immediately caught his eye. He couldn't help but stare. Arata wondered if she knew he was staring. Of course, she did, he thought to himself. She was ANBU after all! His gunmetal grey eyes just wouldn't move off her. Deep down, Arata had always wanted to become an ANBU. He had the talent for it but..

Maybe he should go over? Would she even speak to him? He chewed on his bottom lip, mulling over what to do.

 

[Hase Aki]

"It's not nice to stare..."

She said, her head rolling lazily back up so that she was sitting upright. The eyes of the mask locked onto his, unnervingly still and unblinking. The mask was a rather realistic looking face, but it wasn't real, it was a mask and as such gave a sense of the uncanny valley. Someone would easily find it creepy to look at. Her words did not make the mouth move either, signifying it was hard, even though from his distance it looked like a legit, real, face.

"You trying to get fiesty?" she said, making mock cat claws with her hands, a smile forming under her mask although it couldn't be seen. She liked playing around a lot, even as a kid sitting on this very spot, she would always roll around on the bench and laugh and giggle at seemingly nothing, she had not lost that about her. She had aged a bit, but she was still the unnervingly happy girl she was known to be growing up.

 

[Arata]

Arata forced himself not to recoil as the woman's eyes locked on his own. They were so intense and unmoving. He cleared his throat and shook his head. "Not at all. Just, uh.." Man. Reaching up, the boy ran his fingers through his ebony strands. "I just really look up to the ANBU, ya know?" Despite her eyes, Arata could tell that she wasn't hostile. At least, not yet.

 

[Hase Aki]

"I just really look up to the ANBU, ya know?"

"What makes you think I'm an ANBU? You a spy?

She tilted her head to the side in a creepy, doll like fashion, Something she had learned from another shinobi to throw people off, although she was just having a bit of fun. She wasn't your typical ANBU, bright and her mask literally being another face. She had been called weird, odd, special, but never an ANBU. She would slurp her whole body back over the bench so that she was hidden behind it, her head popping up on the back rest top, sliding across it like a weird doll.

"Are you...threatening me?

Playing with this boy was fun, she was having fun. If he made a move, she'd take it easy on him, cause it was about the journey not the destination, and this journey was humorous.