Maintenance of the Hive.

[Takahashi Aki]

Communications. A very important hub that needed constant maintenance and for good reasons. Communications always had to be operational for reasons self explanatory. What annoyed the Steward was when the staff did annoying things such as leave bubble gum on the console which then interfered with several dial mechanisms. The Steward's eyes narrowed as he looked at all sorts of coloured bubble gum remains stuck on the interface before him. The Steward let out a sigh and held out his hand. His hand quickly encased itself in metal, and at the end of his index finger a star shaped screw-driver formed. The Steward began to undo the screws in the interface and removed the metal case. He stared at the inner workings of the circuitry. Everything looked normal except for the simple fact there was a bug hive. The Steward knew who worked here, and he had ... in his own way pleaded with the individual not to let their Amburmane insects to multiple and make home within the circuit system of the main console. Yes, it provided warmth, yes it was a good breeding zone for insects, but did they realize that this was the main console? Apparently not.

The Steward reached for his tool box and took out a plastic bag. The Steward with his opposite hand emitted a cooling blast of sorts to put the insects into a sleeping state of sorts. He didn't want to anger his employee over the lost of insects, but this had to stop. The Steward undid the wires and carefully placed his metallic hands into the console to remove the hive. The Steward jerked and it did not move. The Steward tried more forcefully. Again it did not move. The Steward this time turned on his palm blaster and cut through the lower portion of the interface. He had to quite literally move the entire hive as removing it was not possible without doing harm to the hive. The Steward pulled out the metal sheet which the hive was attached to and placed it in the plastic bag.

The Steward turned to see his faithful pet Kitchenzilla at his side. "Careful girl. Don't make any sudden movements, or stomps. I don't want you to quake-rupture the already ... slightly tampered frame of that hive."<i></i> The creature nodded her head and wagged her tail, but made perfectly sure not to destroy any of the nearby equipment or monitors.

 

[Michi]

It was a cool day, even for a subterranean village. As such she decided to dress warmly. A soft, fuzzy hoodie and pants would surely keep her warm on a day that carried such a chill. Of course most would quickly realize that she was wearing a furry costume, although it covered everything more than adequate it was more common to wear in the privacy of one's home. She of course just found the floppy ears to be amusing and the soft grey cloth to be cuddle-worthy when she purchased this attire a few weeks earlier.

She was looking for someone, Sousuke specifically. It was then that she heard his voice down a corridor.

<"Careful girl. Don't make any sudden movements, or stomps. I don't want you to quake-rupture the already ... slightly tampered frame of that hive.">

"Sousuke, are you there?"<i></i> She called out as she entered the room with the tinkerer. "Want some gum?"<i></i> She offered as she pulled a stick from her furry pocket to offer it to him.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

"Ah. Yes I am here. Though I suppose I could be in several other places. For one I could be in the kitchen trying to break my fast, and failing to do so."<i></i> The Steward picked up the panel he removed earlier and began to try and remove the bubble gum splotches attached to it. The Steward merely applied a low level plasma blast to simply eat up the bubblegum before removing it. What annoyed him was that remnants of the gum remained. The Steward thought to increase the temperature until he found himself being offered a stick of gum. The Steward stared at the stick of gum. His eyes narrowed as he waved his hand. The Steward then remembered that Shiori was blind after all and that she could not see his motion. "Ah. No thank-you. I will pass on the gum."<i></i> The Steward's eyes then traced from the stick of hum to the furry sleeve of Shiori, and then he traced it upward more so. Ah. Yes. The furry costume. It struck the Steward as odd that Shiori would wear such a thing. It had no ... real form of functionality. The ears, the fur, everything was an unnecessary hindrance.

Kitchenzilla let out a series of barks and waved her small scrawny arms. The Steward's pet seemed to be amused by Shiori's choice of clothing, where the Steward was not so amused. "You do realize those ears are more ornamental than of actual use? They're unnecessary and more of a hindrance. You could get them caught in a door way or a hook."<i></i> The Steward spoke coolly. "Aren't you hot underneath that too? I mean you are ... in an area that is full of hot air most of the time and the heat from the machines here do tend to increase the temperate here ... astronomically."<i></i>

 

[Michi]

"It has been cold all week"</B><i></i> Shiori complained as she returned her gum to the confines of her pocket. "It would be warmer if we could live on the surface,"<i></i> she added with a sigh.

She played with a floppy ear from her furry costume. She liked it, it was warm and he was simply jealous of her fantastic fashion sense despite being blind. But he would not have to be jealous for long, she had gotten him one as well. While hers was grey and fluffy, she also found a pretty dark blue one (cookie monster). Of course she had no idea what dark blue was as it was about abstract as any philosophical science.<B>"No need to worry, I have one for you too." She pulled out the dark blue fuzzball suit, it was certainly large enough for him and then perhaps some, she might have exaggerated his height by a few inches. It was enormous to her obviously at her childish height as the feet dragged on the floor while she displayed her prize in front of her. This was the reason she was looking him after all.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

The Steward looked down upon the fluffy form. It was blue and furry. He looked at the hands. Somehow he was now supposed to work with three fingers instead of four and a thumb. How strange. He could still feel his fingers, but the costume had put together the pink and right finger, the middle and index finger, and his thumb was left to be. Kitchenzilla let out a series of barks and wagged her tail. Sousuke's new form was apparently delightful and cute. The Steward wasn't concerned about his appearance, he was more concerned about the functionality of the suit. "I think your suit has better functionality. It doesn't ... the fingers don't meld together."<i></i> He explained as he looked at it. In particular he now looked at the hood. Two big eyes sat upon the hood. The eyes were staring at him, as if trying to figure him out. "I... don't know about this Shiori. This suit is a menace, I'd be much more comfortable operating in mark one design than this... but I don't think I'm going to have a choice here?"<i></i>

Before he knew it Kitchenzilla let out another series of barks, stole the blue costume and slapped it on Sousuke. The Steward's form was now blue and furry. The Steward's worst fear came to life as he looked down at his digits. He now had to use three fingers instead of five. The Steward let out a sigh and attempted to go back to work as he fumbled about with lesser operational digits. The Steward held out his palm ready to blast more plasma streams out but realized if he did so the costume would then catch fire as plasma did consist of fiery jutsu. "Hrmmm..."<i></i> The Steward looked to Shiori. "How best do I get this gum off of this panel? I don't want to open palm have at the gum, because I don't wish to have the bubble gum stick to the furry exterior of this shell."<i></i>

 

[Michi]

OC: Sorry about the delay. Took awhile to finalize some OCR stuff.

<"I think your suit has better functionality. It doesn't ... the fingers don't meld together." >

<"I... don't know about this Shiori. This suit is a menace, I'd be much more comfortable operating in mark one design than this... but I don't think I'm going to have a choice here?">

He was just exaggerating. The fuzziness of his suit was its sole function. As for the threating nature of the suit, he was just being paranoid. Her face dropped into a pout, he was often this difficult. Of course she was unaware of the big eyes that sat on the hood and the overall appearance of Sousuke's face being where the enormous maw of the creature would be. It might be unsettling to see oneself in the jaws of a blue furry beast. "No choice at all," she chimed in a sing-song voice, common for those who shared her genetic heritage. "Besides, you need to take better care of yourself. You can't afford to get sick... I mean, we live in a cave and you are always working. All this chakra lighting and machinery can't be good for you... us." She nagged. It was true though, he was a hard worker, always doing something.

< "Hrmmm...">

"How best do I get this gum off of this panel? I don't want to open palm have at the gum, because I don't wish to have the bubble gum stick to the furry exterior of this shell.">

Always the hard worker. She was of course oblivious to the fact that there was gum in the control room, although it was the fun fruit-tasic fig flavor that she often enjoyed. Why fig flavoring, perhaps she was the only one that even used that flavor (she pretty much was), was the fact that it kept her regular without actually being a fig. Of course any sugar-free gum would have worked similarly as a laxative, but she was a creature of habit and perhaps at times superstition.

"Don't you freeze gum so that it is not sticky anymore?"

 

[Takahashi Aki]

The Steward underneath his furry frame shrugged. It was a pointless gesture to do, but it was a habit. "Someone has to maintain all the mechanics. Okibi doesn't understand half of it. Oba is a medical officer. Mikaboshi is in charge of the prison. I'm not going to deploy the Anbu to do maintenance work, they're out catching criminals and the medics are preserving life."<i></i> He explained as attempted to explain himself. "If you're that concerned for my welfare... then I suppose you could aid me in my daily attempts to break my fast, which more often than not results in the ruining of a kettle." The Steward thought about it for a moment. "Actually I'd advise you not to do that. I don't want you to scold yourself or burn yourself. I'm... .... I'll get back to you on what you can aid me with in terms of my own self preservation."<i></i>

The Steward still fiddled with the control panel until Shiori suggested he use a freezing method to cease the stickyness of the gum. The Steward's eyes widened for a moment. "That is actually an excellent proposition."<i></i> The Steward looked over into his toolkit. Flares. Wrenches. Screws. Nuts. Bolts. No freezing tools. The Steward snorted in disapproval. "I do not seem to have a freezing tool."<i></i> The Steward was annoyed. He was pleased that Shiori had suggested such a method to him, but he had no tools to do it with. The Steward turned his head slowly to Shiori. "Do you have knowledge of any freezing techniques? I can't say that I have knowledge of any... mainly because metal work, and electronics don't require one to need ice. I suppose I could ask Mikaboshi to employ his anti-photons but I don't want to waste his time. He has ... better things to do like dispose of gangsters, and druglords. "<i></i>

 

[Asagao]

The hallways all looked the same.

Scratching his head, he would turn about in circles trying to figure out which direction he had just come from. Pointing to the left, he would rub at his chin utterly befuddled. "How does anyone ever find there way out of here? This place is like a maze!!" Not having spent much time at all in the Kazekage Tower, Asagao was near feeling like giving up, before an idea struck him, igniting a new passion for locating the exit door which continued to elude him.

Using his heightened sense of smell, he would inhale deeply a few times and pick up a scent. Walking with purpose, he would move through the tower determined to find his way out. Sniff, sniff. He would let his keen nose direct his pathway, until he was finally home free having escaped the treacherous labyrinth. Stopping in his tracks, his feet would skid across the ground as he came to a sudden halt. Sniff, sniff. He would check the air, check the sent he had been following. Peeking his head through a doorway, he would see a most peculiar sight....an animal woman here in the tower. "How unexpected..." He would whisper quietly under his breath, now befuddled for a second time.

Sniff, sniff. There was no question, the smell was coming from in the room. Looking around for the exit door, he would have no such luck, it was not there, he was still lost. "What brought me here...what was it that caught my attention??" Taking in another long whiff, he would finally enter and pinpoint what it was that was drawing his attention. "CHEWING GUM!" He would exclaim spotting a piece stuck to some kind of console thingy. Turning his head, he would realize he had just barged in on some kind of bizarre looking costume party, for the woman wasn't an animal at all.

"I...I do apologize for my intruding, but I appear to be lost." He would bow his head at the strangers, trying to be as respectful as possible. Being Interrupted was a pet peeve of Asagao, he truly hated it, so he knew he would have to make up for it somehow. "Ya know, sticking bubble gum to things like that isn't very sanitary, someone should probably remove it." He would smile brightly, thinking he had just provided a helpful bit of information.

[Topic Entered]
[ooc: Ello, ello. =)]

 

[Michi]

Sousuke started to discuss why it had to be him and not somebody else. Even if there was an army of capable people it would have to be him still. He then went on to discuss what she could do for him, which was apparently nothing. She did not respond to the statement because it was a common sentiment and she understood that. She felt like an invalid quite often, especially since she learned she was not like everyone else. It was when her blindness was uncovered that she was viewed as incapable rather than eccentric. In a lot of ways she was like a child: her love of adventures, bright colors (unbeknownst to her), the fuzzy or frilly, and her dependence on others categorized her as a juvenile surely in the eyes of many. She knew that was how people saw her, yet she allowed it even if it is something that she would claim to distain. She could mimic other people - the important people, the people that others claim to be beautiful. She could mask her deficits, break away from her adoptive family as to prevent a continuation of this cycle of childishness, her behavior being met with attention and gentle hands. That reaction was something that she got from a lot of people, almost everyone except for her actual parents of course. She hated them at times for their harshness, their indifferences to her struggles. Essentially society was her surrogate family, something a part of her understood but hated to admit. She would of course maintain this charade, this playful inaptitude, this means to an end."Poo, I can do plenty. I found you that fuzzy suit," she debated full-well knowing that Sousuke found the suit to be as he put it to be a menace but only wore it to appease her childish whim. She truly did not gather the true ridiculousness of the blue fuzz monster suit that he wore for her pleasure or the grey shaggy dog suit that she wore her own tactile amusement. (OC: giving you some resources for a mental spar/dialogue coupled with familial sentiment knowing how you desire to play your character.)

Freezing techniques he continued on to eventually ask. She knew of no ice technique, in fact she did not even know a water technique. Of course the plight was only a wad of gum - most people would have let the piece of gum stay. Was it truly bothering anyone, this globby little lump that could not have been more than two centimeters. Was it perhaps a part of his obsessive-perfectionist nature that compelled him to destroy, apparently with fire, any trace of imperfection? She knew better than to advise him to leave it be, as it was a lump of something that did not belong in an area that he considered to be his to maintain. "No freezing techniques, I could sing at it, but I really doubt that would do much to it." She commented while she mused briefly. She knew full well that her song was useless against the might of the bubblegum wad. She was totally inept with machinery, but she knew enough to be concerned over Sousuke's ambition, it is possible that he would try to burn away the polymer (gum) and in doing so he could compromise the integrity of whatever is supposed to function here.

"Well, what is the console the gum is stuck on made of?" She asked finally, gum removal being a very intellectual subject when it must be removed. The thing with chewing gum is the fact that polymers of similar atomic structure would bond more readily. If the console was made of something that the gum was less likely to adhere to, such as metal, the gum would bond more readily to the like substance and be removed with relative ease. Of course the most reasonable method of removal would be allowing it to harden and then chipping it away at a later date; something that could take days to occur naturally and minutes with the application of ice. Patience is not as interesting or as fun as actual science. A similar compound could include objects made of rubber or asphalt - the soles of shoes being a readily available source of rubber. Rubber could be the bonding agent they had been looking for to cleanly remove the gum from the console. "How about the bottom of your shoe?" She finally concluded verbally when a new person entered the room.

"I...I do apologize for my intruding, but I appear to be lost."

"Ya know, sticking bubble gum to things like that isn't very sanitary, someone should probably remove it." </B><i></i>

She did not know this person because she did not know his voice. Where some people would have a difficult time recognizing someone because they have aged, changed their hair or their attire, that was a plight that she was immune to. She never forgot a voice. She turned around, although it was not necessary because she did not need to see him, she did it out of habit because people often mistook her lack of eye contact as a sign that she was ignoring them or showing disrespect in some way. With the hot heads of any military-based site where the people are capable of manifesting bolts of lightning or summon terrible nightmares, it was best to maintain a level of respect for ones peers, superiors and most of all strangers. Of course she and her cousin were likely the strange ones, dressed in their fuzzy splendor. She did not bring any additional furry costumes although she bought twelve and the rest are at home, most of them were her size.<B>"Hai-Hai!"<i></i> She responded in a cheerful voice, not really answering the bubblegum comment immediately as she mentally searched for the best phrasing. "Yes, do you know how to shoot ice cubes?"<i></i> She asked before she furrowed her brow, she was not entirely sure of how to answer his query of their location. She simply followed the sound of her cousin's voice, she had no idea where they were.

"Yeah, where are we again?"<i></i> She asked as she turned to Sousuke. She tilted her head to the side as she attempted to remember how sounds traveled and listened for any distinctive tick, whirl or buzz that the environment made so that she could recall the place later. Much like an artist paints with color, her mind painted a picture of the room for her to memorize.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

"You do have your moments."<i></i> Sousuke spoke as he took a moment to consider them. There were moments when a simple word of phrase aided Sousuke in cracking the missing element in an algorithm. "If it weren't for you, I suppose I wouldn't have cracked the problem of the overheating of the mark two... or the functional plate shifting mechanism of the mark one for that matter too. I know I probably don't sound it, but I am grateful for your input. It is surprising at times that you were not enrolled in a class for higher learning given your thought process."<i></i> The Steward was placed in 'special' classes as a child from time to time given his inability to socialize with others. The Steward spoke in a very bored tone of voice. Things would get more lively when Asagao exclaimed bubble gum and made his way in.

The Steward didn't answer Asagao, not right away at least. The Steward simply stared at him underneath his furry blue hood. He then broke eye contact "I, for one day, would not like to be me. I'd like to know what it is like to have a mind unburned by the concept of thought, and responsibility. It must be nice not to be me. Is it nice not being me Shiori?" The Steward inquired as he was still trying to explore the removal of gum. He paused for a moment. "I just realized that might have come off as incredibly unpleasant and cold. It was not my intention to be rude, but I am already in the act of trying to remove the gum. Someone stuck said piece in here, and I am simply trying to remove it because it is as you said most unsanitary."<i></i> The Steward tuned out Shiori and Asagao for a moment as he was thinking of several different options.

It was a moment later he proceeded to answer them at the same time. "We are currently in the Pyramid of the Kazekage Tower called Communications. It is here where we have the tech team dispense out radio calls of various sorts and monitor the radio wave. I suppose it is a bit of a maze, but I can find myself around this place quite easily mainly due to the fact I always know what I am looking for. The console is made out of iron, but I suppose I could use the other end of my shoe to try and remove it, should our guest here not have an ... ice jutsu."<i></i> The Steward was silent for a moment as he recollected Shiori inquiring if he could shoot ice cubes. The Steward's turned his head to his mechanical pet. The Steward thought hard for a moment, it was a stove he used to create her wasn't it? Or was it the fridge? "I suppose we could borrow the ice maker and attach it to Kitchenzilla to fire ice cubes if worst came to worst."<i></i>

 

[Asagao]

With the tip of his knuckle, he would lightly bang on the communications machine - this radio device - and listen to the metallic clang noise echo back at him. Strange. It was the only thing he could think. Asagao was not a tech person, in fact he didn't understand it at all. How people could communicate from distances so great, through machines. It made no sense whatsoever. And why would someone stick gum to it? Truly distasteful, no manners at all.

"Alas, I have no talent with making ice...my skills unfortunately lie elsewhere." He would sigh, at his inability to provide any real assistance. "I truly doubt wind would help, as we cannot blow it off." He would chuckle to himself, as the image of the three of them huddled around the gum, all blowing furiously at it trying to remove it from it's stuck position entered his mind. Turning his attention back to the furry female, he couldn't help but wonder why exactly she was dressed the way she was. "Is this a special occasion? I don't seem to be dressed properly." He would smile warmly, while greatly anticipating the answer. It seemed quite unusual that people were in animal costumes in the Kazekage Tower of all places. Quite unusual, indeed.

"I see." He would return his attention back to the man with the gum issue. "I guess my sense of direction is a bit off. I was trying to locate the exit. But I could not, for the life of me, remember which way it was. Do you really believe a shoe will remove it?" He couldn't wrap his mind around it. Wouldn't a shoe just flatten it even more? What were the odds that the gum would stick to the bottom of the shoe so securely that it would allow you to pull it off? "Wouldn't something sharp be better?" He would cock his head curiously. He had never had such a detailed conversation about gum. What an odd day this was turning out to be.

 

[Michi]

<"I, for one day, would not like to be me. I'd like to know what it is like to have a mind unburned by the concept of thought, and responsibility. It must be nice not to be me. Is it nice not being me Shiori?"></COLOR><i></i>

Sousuke was talking funny again, sometimes she thought it was because he was trying to be deep other times she was confident that it was chatter to get other people thinking that there must be something to contemplate. "Without thought and reason how would you know the difference between being you or ...gum?" She answered automatically. It was part of human nature after all to find dissatisfaction in one's life, choices, past and perceived potential. Everyone had limitations, assets and things that made them feel useless, foolish or even pathetic. Society creates an unattainable image each person strives for, it is inconsistent even for those that come close. Perfection is unattainable, if a person reaches their ideal they are an egomaniac, if a person reaches the ideals of society, the ideal will become inconsistent in order to find a fatal flaw. "People need to be imperfect and that makes them perfect." He was perfect the way he was, yes at times he was socially inept but at the same time perhaps society was not adept enough in understanding his social idiosynchronicities. He'd be boring if he acted like everyone else.

<"Alas, I have no talent with making ice...my skills unfortunately lie elsewhere.">

The new person sadly had no skill for ice magic either. That was unfortunate because it would have saved them all quite a bit of trouble.

< "I suppose we could borrow the ice maker and attach it to Kitchenzilla to fire ice cubes if worst came to worst.">

Was that even safe? That is like "spa day" for her doll house. Mixing a few "harmless chemicals" to give them a bubbly bath was a great idea. After all nothing terrible happens when gold salts are mixed with an acidic solution.

</B>

HCN + NaOH → NaCN + H2O​

<i></i>

It just made the room smell like bitter almonds, next thing you know you are being dragged out of your dollhouse and someone is dousing Kohona Shikyo's hot tub with hydrogen peroxide. "I don't think Auntie Chiyoko would like it if you modified Kitchenzilla," she warned like a schoolage child. A mind could be a dangerous thing, not to say that he would be wrong, surely kitchenzilla would be a fine host for an ice maker, her only concern was would the ice box turn the entire space into a frozen wonderland.

<"Is this a special occasion? I don't seem to be dressed properly."><i></i>

”Nope, just a normal super-awesome day,”<i></i> Shiori chimed in response. Internally she was filled with glee over the statement. She was sure that the outfits she had chosen were very fashionable but she had no idea they were special-occasion. She would get Sousuke a few similar outfits that he could wear when doing his official worky-things. The next time he had to give a fancy speech or got a visit from foreign dignitaries she would surprise him with another outfit. One being a one-eyed monster and another being something called fwuzzy bear. She had no idea what they actually looked like but the former seemed more casual so it was something she was sure that he could wear on a date, once she found him someone. <COLOR color="#000040"> “Thankies!” She chimed as she immediately took claim for the spectacle, “I got him this wonderful outfit. I am glad you like it, I am going to have to get him more. Are you a friend of his? I am sorry I did not get you one? They have a spotted one with this lumpy thing in the front that you might find great. I’ll have to see if they will give me one for a song.”

<B><"Wouldn't something sharp be better?”>

That was not something that they thought of. The question was: is the gum sticky and pliable or is it crusty and hard. A crusty hard gum would cut or chip away quite nicely, but a chewy fresh piece would make a mess of any blade of cutting apparatus. That is where the ice versus the shoe would come in. In a case where the gum was hard, it would be similar to if the gum was frozen and made hard – it could be chipped away. If the gum remained squishy, on the other hand, the only options were to let it harden some over time or with external assistance or they could find something that could create a more cohesive bond to the gum. “Let’s give it a try, what can it hurt anyways.”

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Shiori as usual had a very good point. The Steward himself was speechless for a time underneath his furry blue form. Not on one matter, but on two matters. "I suppose you're right. On both accounts."<i></i> Another moment of silence passed. "Yes. You are quite right."<i></i> He spoke as he thought more and more. Yes. How would he know the difference between being a stick of gum and not himself if not for his thoughtfulness of a higher expanded form of intellect. The Steward then spoke on the second matter, after giving his pet Kitchenzilla a brief glance. "I suppose Mother would not be pleased if I had acquired an element of the fridge and didn't return it because it became an integral part to Kitchenzilla's design."<i></i> The Steward still wanted a way to get rid of the gum.

Asago himself didn't have any ice jutsu which was disappointing to say the least. When he spoke of not being dressed the Steward kept quiet but blinked when Shiori spoke of a bovine costume. It was very offensive looking, and the Steward was indeed most grateful that he was stuffed in a blue monster costume. The Steward merely thought of that costume and then back Asago wearing it. Oh yes. It was most revolting indeed. "I don't think that's necessary..."<i></i> He spoke attempting to dissuade his cousin from making the situation any more stranger than it was.

"I suppose if we had a wind-blade jutsu we could try and cut the gum off."<i></i> The Steward looked to his feet. Oh yes. His feet were occupied. "May I borrow a shoe? My feet are already occupied. Let us use the shoe method, and if that doesn't work we will proceed to a wind blade. If both fail... then I suppose I could go to my lab and acquire some liquid nitrogen and then ... go from there. Provided of course acquiring and getting the liquid nitrogen doesn't involve a massive following of curious people."<i></i>

 

[Asagao]

If at this very moment they had all been characters in a cartoon, a large white thought bubble would currently have been positioned about three inches above Asagao's head. He had absolutely no idea what animal she was describing, regarding the costume, but the images he was creating based off of her descriptions were terrifying. Shaking his head, he would quickly clear himself of such things and politely decline her well-intentioned cosplay suggestion. "That's quite alright." He would smile at her in response. "I am afraid I don't really need such things. I already have more in common with animals than I would like to admit." The tiger heart residing in his chest beat ferociously at it's mention, causing him to chuckle at his own comment.

Looking down at the floor, his eyes would locate their feet and notice neither of them were wearing actual shoes. Giant furry slippers replaced them, leaving only Asagao to sacrifice his in attempts to remove the dreaded gum. "I see." He would mumble under his breath, contemplating whether or not he actually wanted to hand over his footwear to be used as a tool to scrape off the old chewing gum. "I guess....I hope this works, though." Obviously displeased with this turn of events, he would slip his foot free and hand over his shoe begrudgingly.


[ ooc: Short post, I know. I am so sorry for such a long wait...this is exactly what I was afraid was going to happen. *sigh* ]

 

[Michi]

OC: No worries man, I work full time and go to school full time. I am not a ball of energy either.

<"I am afraid I don't really need such things. I already have more in common with animals than I would like to admit."></B><i></i>

The stranger did not sound like an animal. And what did he mean by animals anyways. It wasn't like they were dressing up like sandworms or vultures. She was unfamiliar with the exotic animals of foreign lands. While most shinobis had the benefits of book learning or even first hand experience, her entire life, even before she was adopted by the Takahashi family was spent underground in the dark. Of course she was indifferent to the presence or relative absence of light because there was always sound and song. "True enough," Shiori answered just to agree. She supposed that they both breathed air and pooped.

Asagao did relinquish his footwear. This would be an interesting study: was the rubber sole of the shoe a stronger bonding agent than the metallic surface. Theoretically the answer would be yes, being a polymeric hydrocarbon the gum should hold fast to the rubber. ((OC: Will leave the honor to Ray))

Shiori played with a floppy ear before she pulled back the hood. It was getting darn warm in the communications center, it was cold when she got up this morning. Her hair was tucked into her furry costume, she pulled it out and let it hang as she started to braid it from the crown of her head. "It is going to be annoying walking around with gum permanently attached to your shoe, eh?" She always hated it when she got gum on her shoe, it would catch everything she walked on and pick up stuff on the way too. Sometimes it would seem to grow as it gained paperclips and pebbles and hunk of dirt. Usually the gum was her gum of course, it always had that fun fruity flavor she loved called fig. She was not sure what a fig was considering where they lived but she sure liked them a lot.

<B>"When we are done here I wanna look for baby sandworms... I started a class and I think the students should have a pet. What do you think?"<i></i> She asked while she continued to braid her hair, she was not asking either of them in particular, she was instead thinking out loud as she often did. Sandworms are most certainly a scourge of the desert and even their babies can cause some serious havoc if not properly contained. But perhaps it was their relative potential for a controllable level of danger that she so desired to give the students a practical opportunity.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

The Steward looked at the shoe as he was handed it. The Steward then proceeded to do a few swift slices through the air with the shoe as if it was a weapon. "Yes, I do believe this will do quite nicely. "<i></i> The Steward twirled the shoe about before holding it in position to scrap off the gum. The Steward proceeded to do just that. With one swift strike he ran the heel into the gum and thus peeled it off. The Steward was now stuck with a new problem. Asagao's shoe now had the gum on it. The Steward's eyes would narrow. The hoodie which concealed his face now showcased a pair of golden annoyed eyes. It looked somewhat menacing. "Confounded gum, I will eradicate you and banish you from this world. I will reduce you to a state of nothingness."<i></i> The Steward dropped the shoe, heel up and held out his hand. He then opened up his palm and held it steady, but used his opposite hand to further steady the already held out arm. A series of mechanical clicking noises came from the Steward. In particular from his arm in fact. A charging noise could be heard next as he was preparing to do something, but what next?

The Steward seemed about ready, but he stopped. Yes. He was still wearing the costume. How annoying and terrible it would be if he fired a plasma shot out of his palm and put a hole in the suit. "One moment..."<i></i> The Steward began to pat the costume trying to find a zipper. Where was it? "These things do have zippers right? I merely wish to be out of this suit for a moment so I may blast the gum with an incinerator beam to burn it into a state of nothingness."<i></i> The problem was not blasting the gum off, but the problem was now trying to get out of the suit. Things of course got worse as he looked at his digits. He was now confied to a mitten like glove of sorts. "If and when you do find the zipper, do pull it because this mitten is compromising the use of my digits."<i></i>

 

[Asagao]

Looking down at his naked foot, he would wiggle it side to side, feeling the stuffy air slip between the cracks in his toes. It was an awkward thing to be fully dressed, yet missing only one shoe. Asagao had decided he didn't care for the feeling all that much, he was beginning to long for the comfort of his absent clothing companion; the protection it provided was suddenly irreplaceable. "Yes, I imagine the walk home will be quite bothersome." He lied, his only thoughts were of slipping his foot back into the shoe and feeling the comfort of its soft material wrapped securely around his foot again. Chewing gum or not, he wanted the thing back.

"Do you think that is safe idea?" He would question, taking a momentary break from his current obsession to comment on the furry woman's last statement. "I can't imagine it being a good idea to have students around a wild animal....it being a baby or not." He had never seen a sandworm in person, but he had heard various stories about them. They were supposed to be towering monsters, that were incredibly dangerous and lacking in intelligence. Even an infant sandworm would still be rather large, would it not? Nothing good could come from that idea, nothing good at all.

The shoe debacle was beginning to take a turn for the worse, as the furry man appeared to be stuck in his costume, unable to properly work the zipper. The shoe flapped loosely in the man's hand, almost like a victim in distress flailing about while calling out for help. The mechanical man's rage was beginning to boil over, as he was now cursing the gum, vowing to destroy it. What exactly was going on here? The man's level of hatred for chewing gum was beyond belief, and his shoe was going to pay the price! "Wait! Stop!" Asagao would shout out, trying to save his article of clothing from being completely eviscerated. "I will take the gum!" He pleaded, "I don't mind...and technically it is mine now, seeing as how it is stuck to my shoe, right?" Was he really trying to debate the property of ownership regarding used chewing gum? This was all utterly insane!

[Marked For Training]

 

[Michi]

OC: Oh gawd, I am sorry about not posting here. I kinda assumed that this thread died. PM meh! Also, be careful about getting undressed in a furry costume, keep this PG willya =P Also, got some cool storyline suff finally in my brain since I have gotten acclimated back to sand again. Thinking sandworms and bringing back runic terran again for the lawls if either of your are interested (not necessarily in this order).

IC:

Eureka, her theory was a success. The gum was taken from the metal console because of the adhesion properties. This was most certainly a scientific achievement today. Shiori's eyes narrowed as Sousuke attempted to find a way out of his suit. She could not see anything and the narrowing of her eyes was essentially useless and more an expressive change than an attempt to visually discern anything. "Is it decent under there?" Kitchenzilla was quick with the attire change and there were parts of her cousin that were simply not meant to be heard. She cupped her hands over her ears to muffle her sight in case.

Meanwhile Asagao asked about the sandworm idea. It was true, she had a classroom of students that were to face a "baby" sandworm that she stumbled across the other day. She was hoping to give the students some practical battle experience from the safety of the classroom before they were faced with true life or death situations on the battlefield. She had never faced a sandworm but she had heard stories about them. They had a variety of strengths and weaknesses, but mostly strengths. "Worst case scenario, they could just run like any logical person would." Shiori answered, not as fearful of the concept as she should have been. "I have never gotten to fight a sandworm before so it is going to be awesome. I have him locked up in the classroom right now." She was giddy when talking about this subject, in a lot of ways she was like a child because she was a child despite her apparent age. "You and cousin should come... It will be fun." It was unlikely that her cousin heard this invitation because he was busy with his new mortal enemy, chewing gum.

Meanwhile her cousin was going to try to disintegrate the gum on Asagao's shoe and quite potentially the shoe as well. Did he really need that shoe? Surely he had other shoes that would fit on that same foot. The concept of matching shoes was beyond the furry. "How about peeling the gum off of that shoe by using his other shoe?"

OC: As for the classroom worm thing, if you want Asagao, you are free to join since the worm will kick my @$$ - hopefully the students will save me. Just getting some B-mod warm-ups in, but the thread should be a hoot (if the class is not eaten although that is not necessarily a bad thing) >>

 

[Takahashi Aki]

The Steward flailed for a moment. It was an exceptional response for one such as him. "I assure you the mark one will in effect cover all of my flesh. That is what it was design to bear in mind because I pre-supposed the possibility of my lab coat being burnt by freak accidents, not that I have truly engaged with one but I suppose one could call this a freak accident."<i></i> The Steward's mind quickly backtracked to the concept of sandworms and in particular their young. "I advised my ward to stay away from sandworms, but should you actually find one which should be with great difficulty, I would kindly ask that you keep said infant sandworm away from my ward. I have doubts that even my mark two armour could physically combat a sandworm."<i></i> The Steward paused for a moment. Fighting a sandworm? Awesome? "Shiori, haven't my father's tales of his supposed encounters with sandworms frighten you enough? How is it awesome? Are you malfunctioning?"<i></i> The Steward quickly inquired. Shiori had some interesting ideas, but this one by far was most questionable.

Before the Steward could continue further Shiori offered the idea of using the other shoe to use to remove the gum. "That doesn't solve the problem, that merely transfers it. As the Steward I will not fail my man here. It is my duty to provide for him in what ways I can ... and in this particular instance I will be providing him with a shoe that does not have gum on it."<i></i> By this time Asagao expressed concern for his shoe and that he would take it with the gum. The Steward stared hard at his nemesis being the wad of gum. "Unacceptable in the extreme, it would be most unsanitary, and I will not risk you having an untimely fall or slip due to this piece of gum."<i></i> The Steward again exchanged glances with Shiori and Asagao. "I assure you my metallic exterior is up and operating, now can we please find this zipper? I will return to this suit within due time, once I have eradicated the gum with a plasma beam."<i></i>

 

[Asagao]

Denied.

His request for his shoe had been declined. Was that even possible? How could someone refuse to return somebody else's item of property? It was HIS shoe, after all, what right did this man have to keep it from him? And why did this man hate gum so much? Had chewing gum done something horrible to him earlier in life, that now he sought out revenge any chance he could? The man seemed obsessed with the idea of removing the gum by any means necessary, even at Asagao's shoe's expense. Standing there with a perplexed look upon his face, he would remain motionless as the man continued to struggle with his costume's zipper. Letting out a sigh, he would once again wiggle his toes and come to grips that he was now going to have to purchase another pair. Money down the drain.

Returning his attention back to the oddly dressed female, her words of reassurance regarding her class were hardly....reassuring. "That does not seem like the worst case scenario. It seems more like the best case." He would chuckle. The thought that running away was the only thing she could think of that would be considered the worst case was somewhat, disconcerting. Was this lady really fit to be a teacher? The academy was supposed to be about learning the basics. Preparing the youth for what they may encounter later in life; not throwing them into a situation that could potentially result in the death of a child. Baby or not, this sandworm idea seemed far from a good one. Though, he couldn't deny it, it did sound entertaining if nothing else. "Would it be possible for me to accompany you to this class?" He would ask, bowing his head. "I think I would rather enjoy seeing how it all turns out." His smile was kind, but not truthful this time. He actually wanted to keep an eye on the children and make sure none of them were squished or eaten alive during their academy lesson.



[ ooc: I thought I would work me asking to join your class in. That way there is a reason for me being there. I will just say I am showing up late to the lesson. K?]