Hell Raiser [Private][Tag Yama]

[Megumi Tanigawa]

Standing at the gate to her Manor, Megumi would wait on her friend Yama who she invited over. Wearing a light pink kimono with her clan symbol decorated around the mix of flowers that adorned her grab. She wanted to catch up with her friend and ask him about what he had learned while he was over at the Nara complex. She wanted to go visit, but she did not want to disturb his one on one training in his shadow jutsu.

Her reason for inviting him over were not for purely catching up with one of her only friends. He unwittingly involved himself with her issues with a certain man she would rather not speak of. Thinking about what she did to acquire the information, made her skin crawl and her hatred for that scum boil to the surpass.

Twirling her shortened hair for the event with Kaji, and his horse she would have to think of a way to explain how she decided for such a drastic change of her image temporarily. Jamming it in with the topic of her meeting the tight lipped Kaji. Compared to Yama it was much harder to get a straight answer out of the man, but he give enough to prove that he and Yama were involved with each other.

She would wonder if she should bring it up, she did not want to cause him trouble as the Anbu are a secretive bunch. However she felt obligated to repay him for helping her with her own issue without asking for anything in return. Was it so bad wanting to help a friend, she did not have very many and i guess they were both a little bit selfish. One wanting to help the other, but not wanting to get the other involved with their problems. Megumi would give a tired but joy filled sigh at the burdens of friendship.

 

[Tsuji Tamiko]

It was the day after he had finished his wonderful outing with his guiding elders and teachers in the ever mysterious ways of shadow ninjutsu. He had received a note from a postal carrier that had been from his fellow student and friend Megumi, that had requested him to meet her right outside of her clan complex so that they could catch up after the long week. By the end of his week, he had gained the ability to do things that were unprecedented for any student fresh out of the academy. It had recently provoked mixed feelings for the boy, and he had been displaying a slightly arrogant charm which was very unusual for him in the first place. It took his a little while to get ready to go visit, another lesson he learned during the week was that sometimes between choosing to put one's shoes on or simply flop back down on the pillow, the pillow was most often the safest bet. His hair was tussled and messy and he had chosen to go as low brow as he possibly could with red baggy pants and a white v-neck shirt with a bandanna tied around his neck loosely. It was a pretty sunny day so he had decided to show a little bit of class with some high end sunglasses with an aviator design.

As he turned the corner, it was right about the same time that miss Megumi would finish letting out her sigh. Trudging slowly towards her he stopped when he was close enough to see that she had done something to her hair, or rather it looked like a team of four year old children with dull scissors had been playing "Gumi dress-up" in her sleep. The latter was pretty preposterous and rather than let himself continue to go down the rabbit hole of his mind he looked at her and waved, a light grin bouncing onto his face as he began to speak, "Oyy hello Gumi how are you today! You were very nice to let someone practice on your hair like that, they did a pretty... Good job!" A bead of sweat dripped down his face, on the surface he was trying to be nice as possible, but even she probably knew that was a bold faced lie.

Looking up and down both streets, he nodded to himself and took a sip of a bottle of orange juice that he had put in his pocket before reaching it out and offering it to the girl, "I feel really good after this week, I learned a lot of really cool stuff Gumi. I'm on a whole different level than I was before. It's a really satisfying thing." From behind the gate he almost could feel the guardians breathing down his neck, ready to pump his body full of toxin darts on the drop of a hat. Trying to usher her away from the danger zone, he started walking down the street and held his arm out politely for the girl to take it.

 

[Megumi Tanigawa]

Hearing Yama greet her she would look over to see the boy in an interesting apparel. It was like he got into a fight with his wardrobe and lost. He had a bandana around his neck, a v-neck and baggy pants, not to mention those stupid aviators hiding most of his face along with the mop on his head.

Ignoring his fashion destatar, she waved back. “ I’m doing fairly well”. She made sure not to comment on his outfit as she had more important issues to discuss with him. She was going to continue and ask about his time with the Nara, but his comment on her hair shifted tone of their conversation. It seemed he knew that he had messed up as he appeared to perspire as she looked at him during their conversational intermission. Looking away from him and taking in the warmth of the sunny day, she spoke bluntly to him. “ If you like it, you should thank Kaji”. She wanted to settle down back at her home before she got down to business, but his comment soured her mood.

As he took out some juice and took a sip, he offered some to her to break bread over his poor choice of words. Megumi would look at the box then back to him, with a look that showed her disinterest in sharing his drink and fluids. She would listen as he talked about how he was on a whole new level from before. She could not doubt he learned a lot from his time with the Nara, as the were the masters of their craft and had enough knowledge and wisdom for the whole village.. However she doubted that he has changed that much in a week, but it was nice seeing him being more confident in himself. “ Just try not to be overconfident, i’m sure the Nara have already told you about what the end result of being overconfident is”.

Seeing him hold his hand out to her as he walked down the street slightly, almost as he was distancing himself from the rattling of the guardians on the other side of the wall. Slamming her prosthetic arm into the wall and causing a deafening sound from the force behind her strike. The sound of clicking grew farther away as if they were fleeing from Megumi’s wraith if they kept on harassing her friend. Looking at Yama with a more serious expression. “ I invited you over, for more than a simple discussion. I’ve spoken with Kaji, and i have more information about what that man is up to”.

 

[Tsuji Tamiko]

"Oh?" He said with a tone of both seriousness and also embarrassment. Apparently, he had definitely offended the girl and he had hoped that his actions would shift her attentions away from that but she was incredibly adamant about not leaving it seemed and so he turned back and became incredibly piqued at what she was saying about his sensei outside of his clan influences. Kaji had been a dear teacher to Yama, and was of the ninja that had earned a vast amount of respect from the young boy. It was interesting to find out that Gumi knew anything about the man in the first place, and even more interesting that he had somehow taken a part of Gumi's recent fashion statement. Looking back at Gumi he cracked a smile and said, "Well. I guess Kaji would be pretty bad at giving haircuts. I'd love to know how that came to be, but I guess this is much more important then huh?" His gaze shifted and darkened slightly at the mention of that man. Oh yes, Yama remembered all too well what that particular man was like.

Nodding sagely to himself and stroking his chin he let out a sigh and took another huge sip of his juice and then his arms dropped heavily to his sides. What a hassle... "Well, I guess it would be a good idea to go over what you've learned then, I've been thinking a lot about it too. I have done what little digging I am currently capable of and well..." He pinched the bridge of his nose under his sunglasses and shook his head, "To be honest I haven't found anything that would be of any importance to either of us. You weren't lying when you said that he's really good at covering his tracks. But, I suppose I really am not the best at this kind of thing anyways... I'd love to test this new jutsu I learned on him, I know... I know... You won't allow it, but it bugs me that we have someone like this that is capable of just strutting about this village like he owns the place."

Remembering what she had said about being overconfident, he nodded once more and smiled at her, "I've spent my whole life trying to hide myself in a way that others would find me appealing. I guess you could say one of the most important things I learned this year was that I have just as much right to be here as the next person, after all one day I'm gonna hold this whole village on my back. I swear it!" He tapped Gumi on her shoulder playfully at this point before shifting to a more natural stance.

Having finished his juice amidst his tangent he walked over to a nearby trashcan and tossed it in. Walking back over to the girl he stuck his thumb in a sideways motion and pointed it towards the sky, "By the way, that cloud kinda looks a little bit like a noodle strainer no? I've been getting really good at spotting all the best ones."

 

[Megumi Tanigawa]

Laying her arm back to her side, as she listened to Yama. By how drastic his expression changed he looked as if he hated that man more than she did. At least he was listening to what she was saying and wanted to go over what she had learned. As he stated that he had been doing some investigation on the man question. Megumi looked at him with interest, if her ears would perk up they would. However the fact that he looked into it as well, concerned her as she did not want him to make the man more suspicious and put his guard up.

Seeing him pinch the bridge of his nose, before he would go on to tell her of what he learned. By his expression and movements she had an idea of what he had learned. She was a little disappointed that he found nothing on the man, as any information could of helped him but she was glad that he went the extra mile for her. As he mentioned wanting to try his new technique on him, but then said that he remembered that she told him not to try anything.

While she was glad that he understood her reason for not harming the man without any evidence. As he finished Megumi grew a cheshire like smile across her face. “ You might get to use your technique on him after all”. Knowing what his plans were for the fund raises, she gave into her imagination and created the scene of a man being glued in place by Yama’s shadow possession jutsu and then being caught red handed as the curtains drew back. The very idea made her giggle with an almost villainous tone. Bring herself back to reality as she was enjoying basking in her plans for the man. Not taking the mischievous smile off of her face, she did tone it down to a smirk. If Yama wished to know more, he would have to brave the path to her home once again.

Megumi would speak no more about the subject until they were back at her home. Yama would nod and smile, but then speak about how he acted like a doormat his whole life. While this was not where the conversation was going, she did talk about his drastic change in demeanor. Stating that he had just as much of a right to be here as anyone else, she nodded but was unsure as to what he was getting at. Did he not think his live mattered or was he trying to say that others treated him poorly. She did remember him talking about how he did speak of life with his clan was difficult, perhaps that was where his lack of self worth came from. Hearing him stated that one day he was going to hold the village on her shoud made her have a slight outburst of laughter at his claim. She knew it was rude to laugh, but he said it was such conviction it was adorably naive. Feeling him tap her on the shoulder she would try not to laugh. “ Sorry your, but your claim was just so sincere”. Looking back at Yama with a friendly smile, “ I know you want to to protect the village as much as the rest of us, but it’s a team effort. Don’t try and be a hero and put all of the burden on yourself, you're not alone”.

Leaving for a moment to throw away his empty juice in a nearby trash bin. He would come back and point to the sky, noting that one look like a colander. Shaking her head at the boy, “ You always have your head in the clouds, good thing i’m here to bring you back down from the sky”. Taking the boy’s hand as she lead him past the gate, “ I don’t need to look at the clouds when i have someone so close by”. She would smile at the boy that was willing to help her with such a dangerous and important event in her life. She stilled did feel bad for not being able to help him as much as he was helping her, but the words Kaji said to her gave her a way to at least return the favor. She would be his beacon in the dark and make sure that he would not let the world darken his will.

Leading him along the pathway, the guardians did not seem pleased that the boy was in physical contact with her. Megumi would not bothered by her overprotective creations as she knew that he was safe as long as he was with her. Looking over to Yama and giving his hand a light squeeze as to keep his attention off of the guardian that would love to tear into the young boy if they had a chance, “ Don’t worry they do this with everyone”.

Safely leading her friend into her home once, again she would take off her shoes and turn to look at Yama with a light smile. “ See your still alive”. She really wanting him to not be so concerned with the guardians, but telling him that their bark was worse than their bite would be a lie. Making her way into her home, “ Yama make yourself at home, would you like anything to drink or eat”?

 

[Tsuji Tamiko]

Yama waited until he was situated inside of her house, having been mulling over all the things that she had been responding to him about. From inside and seating himself on both of his knees on a mat, from outside the window the boy could see various guardians peeking at him through the window. He even thought he saw one take it's thumb and make a slitting motion across it's throat. Yama felt a shudder go through his body, and he shifted away from the window and instead looked up at the girl who was asking him if he was hungry or thirsty. He had to think about it for a few moments, before nodding softly. "I'd love some water honestly, other than that I'm doing okay! I dunno, it's your house Gumi I really don't want to intrude in any way. Whatever you deem okay I will more than humbly take." Taking his sunglasses off of his face at this point, he rubbed his eyes and then folded them up and placed them into one of his pockets. Fiddling with the bandanna and making sure it was all squared up he then started perusing through his mind in order to reply in turn to everything that Gumi had said.

"You're being awfully nice to me today? What's gotten into you? I remember the first time we met you looked like you wanted to tear my head off, now you're being so nice. Do you know something I don't? Let me guess, there's a huge bounty on my head and you're getting ready to collect it?" He chuckled and waved his hand jokingly, "Well whatever the case may be, I've been thinking about it a lot Gumi. About this whole idea of destiny, and about whether or not we truly have free will. I can't really wrap my head around it to be honest, and it might just be the result of too much shogi. But, in some small way I feel as if someday I'm going to do something very important. I don't quite know what it is, or if it's even true really. But I can feel it deep down in my heart of hearts." Touching his right hand to his chest he then closed his eyes and smiled, "I know that you'll always be there for me. It goes both ways, but I feel particularly responsible. I feel that I cannot just sit back and take some sideways role in the village."

He took a peek back at the window, where one of the guardians was pressing his face against it and staring intently at the young Nara. Yama shook his head and turned back around, "But did you learn anything important about our little devil of a problem? I don't want to keep going on and on about this new jutsu. But it's actually really sweet, I really wish I could show you without making a giant mess of things."

He peered once more around the room, all of the accolades and achievements shining and sparkling in the light of the sun. His mind drifted towards a scene of a battle between puppeteers and other ninja, how insane it would be to be in a situation where you never even saw your killer, puppets truly did have some frightening expressions after all... Oh man... This would be a really good time to just lay down, and lay down he did. He looked up at the girl's ceiling and felt himself mesmerized by the cool patterns that he could see within it.

[ MFT ] | WC: 595​

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[Megumi Tanigawa]

Seeing Yama nod on her offer, but then he only asked for water and whatever she could offer. Grumbling at the boy as was working on plateing the appetizers and tea. “ Yama I invited you over, you are my guest you're not intruding”. Thinking about what happened to all of his confidence all of a sudden, Megumi saw the guardians plastered on her window. Snapping her fingers and shooing her family away as they were being rude to their guest.

Bring his water, tea, and snacks for them to enjoy, she would sit down while he told her that she was much nicer than normal. Giving a small smile as he joked about her knowing about a bounty on the boy’s head or something of the like. While he was wrong, about the bounty, he was her guest at her home. It also did help that his sensei did say that being there for him would keep him on the straight and narrow. Though she was also being nice to her friend due to him helping her with her predicament. Offering him food and drinks were her trying to bribe him into joining in on her plan and thanking him for helping her.

When he said that he had been, thinking a lot, her ears would perk up and she gave him her full unbridled attention. She wondered what he could of been thinking so deeply about, but her attention cracked under the subject that has weighed on his mind. Laughing at the boy’s thoughts, as she was expecting something a bit more serious. Smile at Yama, “ I’m sorry I don’t mean to be rude, but I think you already have your answer. You chose to stick with me even when you were most likely threatened by those men. You have also chosen to hold the leaf on your shoulder”. Megumi would giggle and tap him on the shoulders. “ I don’t know if it’s important to you, but you're helping me with something that is very important to me and I really appreciate it”. Giving the boy a warm smile, “ You have already realized your destiny, now it’s up to you what you want to do”.

Taking a sip of her tea, she would follow the Yama’s eyesight to see the guardians peering at him through the window. Sigh and shooing them away, as she listened to him asked about what she had learned about their enemy. He would continue to talk about how amazing his new Jutsu was, but he did not stop to think what she has been doing while he played shogi for a week. Playfully telling him that there was no Jutsu allowed Standing up going to get something to give context to what she had planned, based on the information she learned. Bring out a Puppet that was in the likeness of the Hokage. There was a lot to take in, it's appearance was more refined than the puppets Megumi, used and those looked fairly life like on their own. If she was not holding the Hokage by her strings you could have sworn that he was in the room with them. The puppet was wearing the traditional robes, and hat of his station, but the flames and designed were done in a watercolour style. On closer inspection, you could see a depiction of the invasion of the leaf in the flames and as you looked higher on the flames it would show many faces of leaf ninja and resting on top of their heads was the new leaf. " This is the main piece at the auction for the fundraiser, it took me over a year to complete it. The man's plan is to switch it out with a poor quality item to embarrass my clan's name and making it impossible for me to refuse his offer of marriage". While she had spent the time of the piece she was holding, it was not the piece that she was using for the auction. This was a failure on her account, as the composition was flawed and the clay she used was not as fine as the type she shipped in to perfect the piece. She wanted to see if he could tell the difference that many art critics would have trouble spotting. She wanted to make sure it would fool the man.