Orientation Day [Class]

[Mugen Kei]

Before the doctor would respond to his questioning, Kei was approached by One. Given the commotion that he had found himself at the center of, the boy had almost forgotten she was there. While the content of her words would indicate she meant to insult him, her tone didn't quite match - at least, was even and cold enough to make Kei uncertain. More than that, it was her dismissal of his approach to rinse his mouth with water that made him defiantly purse his lips with a rebuttal ready. He was certain that he'd learned that as a common approach last year in his 'first aid basics' class. Or, was that ingested poisons? This had gone into his open mouth, but he supposed the nature of it really was more inhaled…

Kei's deliberations were cut short as Three broke out of a stupor that the redhead hadn't noticed, and began to introduce himself. Despite the fact that his body still felt like it was on fire, once more a grin stretched across his face as a chuckle passed his lips, followed by a wince. Looks like "Bread Boy" was going to stick after all. Sadly, before he could respond with any pithy one-liners, One had crossed the distance between them and finally punctuated her lecture with a toss of her water into his face. Y'all, this was too much. Wasn't he supposed to be upset with their fraud of a teacher? Instead there he sat, blinking silently at the ice princess with his mouth hanging open, half-paranoid waiting for more symptoms to begin and half still preoccupied with the boy now known as "Bread". With classroom management like this, who could blame the kid for struggling to pass his classes?

Then, finally (though in truth it had only been a few moments), the Doctor gave his defense. Slowly, the indignation fell from the prosecutor's face. Yeah, that made sense. The only true way to test panic was for the subject to be completely unprepared and left with as little to work with as possible. That was still pretty rough for an 'orientation' class. Turning to look at the younger Mugen, hair dripping into his eyes as he did, the thought made him worry for Ringo. His younger cousin hadn't even really wanted to become a shinobi; would this shake his new resolve?

When things suddenly went blurry and his head stuffy, Kei at first chalked it up to a side effect of the poisoning agent - at least, until the previous side effects washed away as if they had never plagued him in the first place. Not only that, but the pink residue and water as well. Without warning, the anger Kei had felt toward the helmet-clad man - robot? - melted into a strange admiration. Kei had always been impressed by the supernatural feats a shinobi could pull off so effortlessly. Between his explanation for his methods and this unnecessary flex of speed and efficiency, the doctor had won him over (not that such was the doctor's desired or intended outcome).

"Alright, that was cool," Kei beamed as he patted himself down to make sure he was still in his right mind and body. "So like, do we pass then?" He asked with a cheeky grin. A realization would obviously hit his face as his amber eyes widened, no longer bloodshot but filled with child-like enthusiasm. "And also, what's that stuff called? And why's it uh, so pink and glittery?"

[MFT]

 

[Tsurara Moriko]

The first mistake it was possible her classmates had made regarding Moriko's intentions here was that she meant to be helpful. This was not the case. If you dug at it from a specific angle, maybe, but that was being intensely charitable. She was just trying to see if she was right or not about an idea she'd had.

...Mind, she was so abysmal with reading people that she hadn't worked out the others might think that of her, so the assumption was liable to go uncorrected.

And those three had achieved some sense of teamwork. Again, was that the intent? The goal? Shinobi teams were considered important, even if they tended not to be permanent, so that was plausible even as unlikely as it seemed from this teacher.

The thought of failing not only a class, but her first class in this school was intolerable. Even just the potential of it made heat rise in her cheeks, causing a slightly noticeable flush.

Moriko did not like screwing up. If she had...well, the others seemed to have gotten more out of this regardless. Were her note-taking and observation skills going to be any use...? Then again, she hadn't panicked or flipped out in a crisis, which was sure to be worth at least something.

It was around the time Jintou introduced himself as 'Bread' that Moriko finally actually cottoned onto an explanation for his behaviour. It was something she had only vague experience with so far but which her aunts had warned her about; those with their bloodline were very often considered beautiful by others, and even among the clan she was thought of as pretty.

That being said? Jintou was likely now and forever 'Bread' regardless of if and when he ever corrected that with his real name. Partly because she preferred to remember nicknames, and partly because she was uncomfortable with being stared at, much less over her looks.

She folded her arms in front of her, not even attempting 'demure' (a lost cause given her attitude) and said to him with just a slight bite of cold, "Very well then, Bread. I will remember that name. And you ought to remember that I am not a painting to be stared at."

(No, you didn't do anything wrong. She's just Like That.)

Pretty was a bane for her, but not one she'd ever put serious attempts into trying to avoid--despite disliking the attention over it, she was also quite vain and preferred to look good for herself, thank you very much.

Adjusting the red ribbon she was wearing, Moriko turned to the teacher just in time with him saying that the lesson had nothing to do with teamwork, and was in fact about controlling your reactions to a crisis.

...Oh. Hadn't that been one of her guesses? That didn't sound like a failure at all. Especially since she definitely hadn't panicked. Not that she'd felt the need to, or actually that she could recall doing so in her life--there would have had to be some stakes and there hadn't seemed to be before the teacher had asked about potential mortality. Even then, she hadn't felt any particular desire to panic.

That was...

Actually a really cool lesson, yeah.

The flush that had been fading returned as she was briefly singled out; so her note-taking had been noticed after all. As a good thing. Most definitely not a failure. She could relax about that part. (Was that the whole class? Or did they have extra material?)

She was a little disappointed that she hadn't gotten to find out if flushing one's eyes out helped halt or slow down the effects of a contact poison that hit or affected them, mind. But that could be done later.

Four was completely cleaned and restored with just a twitch in a very...well, that was definitely something. Some kind of temporal effect, possibly? Or the mimicry of one? Despite her aversion to touching people she was tempted to go over and poke Four to see if he'd felt anything from that.

"Very important," she said after a pause. "My...friend only got an elemental lesson for his first. This seems more akin to a live-fire exercise. I expect many ninja in my family would agree with you on this point, doctor."

It wasn't as if they didn't lose people, after all. Panic definitely increased that likelihood.

It also served as a good method to weed people out. Perhaps early lessons should include this type of thing more often? If you didn't have the level-headedness or resolve to make it through, then you likely didn't have what it took to stay collected and useful in the field.

Four seemed to be quite happy with the result too, despite being the one who had gone through the poisoning--an attitude she could definitely empathize with. Had she been the one poisoned, Moriko felt relatively sure her reaction would have been similar. Very, very valuable lesson, and Four had had potentially the best opportunity in that of all of them.

Making her decision, she hurried back to her desk and scooped up her notes and pencil before beelining for Kei and halting near him.

"How did that last part feel?" she asked intently, pencil poised. "It looked as if it reset your physical condition; would you say you feel the same as before being poisoned?"

Well, why not get some more data? It might be a skill she'd have to deal with in the future.

 

[Ringo]

With Kei’s speedy recovery more apparent by the second, the four students present engaged each other as they awaited a response from their robot instructor. The whole next scene that played out almost made the young Mugen forget the mini-traumatic episode that had just transpired. Ringo did his best to withhold a chuckle as Three introduced himself as ‘Bread’, as Kei stood shocked by the cool water that splashed on him, and as the girl behind them boldly rebuked Bread-san for his wandering eyes. "I’m sure misinterpretations are flying everywhere,” he mused with an enthused grin, “but I definitely prefer this over poison any day.”

The boy felt the need to interject and formally introduce himself to his peers, but he didn’t have the time to respond as his teacher began to explain today’s lesson. Ringo’s expression shifted into a curiously intent look as he processed the valuable information that the man elucidated. While he didn’t necessarily agree with Doctor Saito’s callous and dangerous approach, he recognized that there was, indeed, a method to his madness. The brown-eyed boy simply nodded as the man’s glowing stare met his for a split second. Conquering your own instincts, eh? Ringo wasn’t sure if he was able to accomplish that; after all, he was internally freaking out throughout today’s ordeal. He trailed off as he sat on it, almost completely missing his instructor’s next string of impossible movements that led to Kei looking like brand spanking new.

“Panic...” he muttered quietly to himself as he continued his self-reflection. Did he feel panic? Definitely. The reality that his cousin was suffering and that he had no way of helping him freaked him out. He wielded no real control in that situation... but, to his own credit, he was able to get it together enough to call for help. He felt lucky, too, that the person he called upon was knowledgable and reliable. Though, what if Bread-san hadn’t been present? How would have Ringo responded then? “I’ll just have to learn more,” he acknowledged, “especially if I want to help save mom and dad.”

Soon after, both Kei and One openly shared out their takeaways and queries. Ringo took that moment to approach today’s hero. “Thanks again, Bread-san,” he said with a warm smile. The brown-haired student then rubbed the back of his own head and let out a small, nervous laugh. “You may have to teach me a thing or two about what you did today. I mean, if you ever wanted to! That would be much appreciated.” Transitioning his posture into a more relaxed confidence, Ringo extended his arm out as to give his new peer a friendly fist bump. “I’m Mugen Ringo, by the way, but you can just call me Ringo. Is your name really Bread?” His question was genuine; it wouldn’t be too surprising if it was. After all, his own name meant ‘apple’, so he could relate quite well.

“Also, nice to meet you as well, One!” He peeked over Jintou's shoulder to wave and smile at her. He didn’t want to leave anyone out in his greetings.

After these introductory exchanges, he would then focus back his attention to his instructor. Ringo was conflicted; today’s lesson was valuable, but their teacher did just inflict a deadly poison on his cousin. His glance then landed on Kei. “I should treat him to a bite after this,” he thought sympathetically. Not really deciding on an appropriate response, the young Mugen gave his professor a simple thumb’s up. “Lesson learned, Sir.” Was there anything else to add? He discerned today’s exercise would be valuable for his future as a shinobi, but he still couldn’t wipe away the icky feeling that it was at Kei’s expense. Maybe, in time, he’d get over it and visit the good Doctor to learn more from him?

“Then again.. Probably not.”

 

[Jintou]

All it took was a few misplaced glances and one slip of the tongue and it was official: the awkward phase had commenced for the misplaced son of house Oba. Surely, it was a phase synonymous with the rigors of being a pre-teen; it was self-discovery and the roll of the dice that was raging hormones. As Jintou averted his gaze from the creature known as One he wondered how glancing a few seconds too long might hurt her. Could a stare make a desert rose wilt? Well, likely not, or so he understood. But how ironic was the cold demeanor of that Moriko girl, and how he wanted a name to call her aside from One. It would be a means to better remember the sting of his transgression. A name to apply to someone so cold and yet so fragile, affected by his stare. So as Jintou turned his eyes towards the varnished wood floor, the feeling of his embarrassment was contested by a sense of… amusement.

But that giddy feeling was washed away with the urgency of a garden hose spraying off fresh skunk stank as Jintou felt the repercussions of his previous gaff. The other children quickly seared the name Bread-san into their frontal lobes, taking it to heart almost sincerely as the word panic. And oh was Jintou panicking then. He gave his peers plaintive stares except for Moriko, who likely wouldn’t see any held eye contact from Jintou again for the next two months and six days, precisely. He stretched out his hands, waving at the word bread like the intangible but damaging thing it had become. But then Two, yes the kind Number Two showed him mercy, or perhaps missed the joke as he questioned the validity of that name. Ever so grateful, Jinto back up two steps and gave a waist-low bow that sent his lanky form bending past his center of gravity. He had to steady himself with that wooden bident and tapped the floor with a stern thud to push himself back upright. “I’m sorry, Ringo— no, my name is Jintou” he explained with a sense of pride that felt misplaced even to himself. “Third son of House Oba.”

If I may— a brief aside.
In the common vernacular for noble lineage in the Village Hidden in the Sand, the term is commonly known as Clan. To refer to one’s family as a House might generally have no meaning to a group of people who actually hail from recognized clans. As a matter of fact, there was no Oba clan in the Hidden Sand, unless you counted young Jintou. They were no-named nobodies— so indeed, it was a look of pride that was misplaced on the boy’s face.

“And yes, I’d be happy to share my knowledge with you” added Jintou in a bid to continue the goodwill he was developing with the Mugen duo. “It’s nothing a trip to any garden can’t manage… pick a few weeds and fungi and you probably have treatments for several ailments in hand.” Suddenly his stomach spoke out with hunger's call. “Or at least find something worth snacking on. “Speaking of which, what else do we have in store for today, Doctor? And what are you going to do with the rest of all those bread cakes?” Perhaps Jintou was overly confident in his ability to treat poisoning, or maybe he was the enjoy now and suffer later type when it came to food… But how could he dare to want anything edible or otherwise ingestible from that dangerous Doctor Kurohane?

There is a thin line between courage and stupidity, and that wayward son of a shaman lived to find a balance on it.

 

[Mikaboshi]

Doctor Kurohane Saito

The students tittered among themselves and Saito made no attempt to stop them from doing so. The lesson was concluded and if they desired to linger following it, that was not of particular interest to him. He'd succeeded in both completing his assigned punitive task and gathered some valuable information about the latest formula of his compound. It was slow to take on human test subjects and was easily rectified with basic treatment-- two problems that would very much need to be addressed in further iterations of the poison if it were going to see use in the field. An effective poison should be quick acting and difficult to counteract and despite earlier promising results using... less-than-human subjects this could only be considered a setback. Still, progress was progress and that was enough for the doctor.

As was becoming a common trend with the bizarre instructor, if he showed any awareness that Kei was looking up at him and asking further questions about the compound which had been administered to him it was impossible to tell from his body language in the bulky clothing and the faceless mask he wore upon his head. He turned from Kei instead of answering and began to walk back to his desk before extending his right hand out towards the door and turning his his wrist upwards towards him causing the door to loudly come unlatched. With another flick of his fingers, this time in a shooing motion, the door slowly wafted open no longer sealed or barred.

"Class dismissed."

He said nothing else as he sat down at his desk and lifted the dark metal of his masked face to stare at the rows of chairs and desks before him and brought his hands up to rest on the surface of the desk with his fingers interlaced before going completely motionless save for the metal appendage which continued to slowly drift to and fro just behind him as though it moved under its own accord independent of the doctor entirely. His response to Kei's continued questioning about the compound that he'd been sprayed with had been rude to be certain but if nothing else were striking about the doctor his particular disregard for any sort of social contract was clear enough from the way that he had labeled his students with numbers instead of bothering to learn their names. Perhaps what they said about Doctor Saito was true and he was an insane person who was capable of acting just sane enough to avoid being incarcerated or perhaps he was just an eccentric intellectual.

Ultimately so long as they left him to his work, Doctor Saito rarely bothered to consider what people thought of him at all and when he did he found that he cared very little what they thought. After all, why rely on the strength of intelligence of lesser minds to determine which way he fell between genius or lunatic?

And that's it! I hope you guys enjoyed yourselves-- I'm pretty sure you're all over 1,500 words by now. If not let me know and we'll do some extra posts to get it done

 

[Mugen Kei]

It would take more than Dr. Kurohane's dismissal of Kei's questioning to dampen his mood now. In fact, the instructor's blatant dismissal of both him and the class as a whole would only serve to stoke the fire this whole experience had built in his belly. "Ah come on Doc, you nearly killed me with it, I feel like I should get to know what it is at least!" Though the redhead continued to prod with a sly grin, he would stand from his seat and stretch his arms to get ready to leave. If he'd learned anything about this fellow, it was that he likely wasn't going to get the answers he wanted, and that was fine. Maybe he was saving his secrets for a future class on poisons and antidotes, since this had in fact not been an antidote class after all. Kei would certainly be on the lookout for that elective - and he would certainly be punctual this time.

"How did that last part feel?"

Suddenly he was approached by One, and instinctively a hand flew up in front of his face to protect himself from another assault. Between her and his teacher, he would be lucky to make it out of this place in one piece! Quickly realization set in, and his amber eyes gleamed with excitement. "Oh that! Man I feel even better than before, like I could conquer the world right now!" Clenching a fist, the boy continued in an almost rambling manner while locking eyes with One's indigo gaze, "So at first it felt like my head was gonna pop and I got kinda dizzy, like when you get out of bed too fast, y'know? Things got pretty blurry for a second there too, so I thought maybe this was just another round of side effects, but then it just - stopped! All of it, the pain and the choking and the dizziness. It was like nothing ever happened. I don't know how to describe it, I've never experienced something like that before." He'd stop for a moment to allow the girl to take her notes, stooping over to pull out his skateboard. Slinging his bag over one shoulder, he'd sway his hips back and forth atop the board, a ponderous look abruptly giving way to more excited chatter: "Hey, what'd it look like? It happened so fast I wasn't even sure y'all saw it!"

After a moment, Kei would turn his board and angle himself in such a way as to create a group of the two side conversations that had begun, not wanting to cut One out but also wanting to chat with Bread Boy before he left. He came in at just the right time, it would seem, as he finally got the name of this medic-to-be. 'Jintou…' The teen narrowed his eyes, wheels turning. "I'm Kei, Ringo's cousin. Thanks again man, that was really cool." As Ringo mentioned wanting to learn more about what exactly it was that Jintou had stuffed in his mouth and the young druid seeming willing to oblige, Kei saw his opportunity. "You guys doing anything now?" In his hometown, 'guys' was used to address both men and women, and as such he didn't think twice using it to address both Jintou and Moriko. "My folks are probably back at our place by now, and if they are I'm sure we're having something better than spongey science bread for lunch. Plus I kinda owe ya, don't I? What do you say, Pantou?" Flashing a genuine smile to indicate no foul intentions by the nickname, he held out a fist to see if his classmate would reciprocate or if he had gotten too friendly too soon. Kei had always been a sociable kid, but spending so much time with Muu last year had somewhat warped his gauge on kids their age.

Despite it feeling like their class had been awfully short, it wasn't long after Doctor Kurohane unlocked the door that the bells in the other classrooms (not theirs, obviously) would ring. As if summoned, the door would crack open and a pair of piercing black eyes would fall on Kei. Though he knew the reckoning that awaited him, the student attempted an overly friendly wave and greeting. "Heeey, Enomoto-sensei!" Try as he might, his natural charm wouldn't get him out of this one - especially as the teacher caught sight through the thick bangs that hung over his face the skateboard that Kei was actively 'riding' in the classroom. With a silent but violent flick of his finger in Kei's direction, the teacher Kei knew as Enomoto-san would give a polite wave to Doctor Kurohane before closing the door and waiting for the delinquent to follow.

Rubbing the back of his neck with a grimace, Kei turned and chimed to the others as he pushed toward the door, "Invitation stands. I'll be right behind you guys. Ringo can take you. See you there!"

Thanks again for having me! Definitely one of my favorite classes to date.
Post 5/5. WC 4,000/1,500.
[Topic Left]

 

[Tsurara Moriko]

People were exchanging real names now. Moriko felt her shoulders stiffen slightly; she wasn't sure about that one. Her clan might even be known. Certainly she'd heard of the Mugen clan. She thought it was possibly they might even live vaguely near each other.

People might or might not make assumptions if they heard her clan name; there was no way to tell if this lot would. Then again, it wouldn't be overly difficult to track her down, particularly if they all graduated around the same time.

The fact remained that one of the things her clan was primarily known for, aside from their ice, was their being pretty. Her relatives dealt with that kind of thing fairly often in the way where no one thing could be pointed to but everything just added up over time. If she gave her surname, was she suddenly a stained-glass window instead of the cold, sharp one?

Moriko knew which of those she'd rather be. Better to not be put on a pedestal. Mind, if she grew up like some of her aunts said she would, then she'd just be pretty and cold...

Can't win. Can't even win there.

None of this showed on her face--only a pursing of her lips and a small sigh before she said simply, "Tsurara Moriko." There was no need in her opinion to say 'yes, of that Tsurara clan.' If they knew they knew; if they didn't she wasn't about to make it easier to find out.

The whole 'they could still find out with little effort' part was the deciding factor in the end. She didn't want to be completely unapproachable after all; she just didn't want to be stared at. Not for her looks, at least. If she was going to be stared at, it ought to be for something she'd done--and she hadn't done anything stare-worthy yet.

After a second she realized that that might be rude as a response to an enthusiastic greeting, and added belatedly, "Nice to meet all of you, too. Just that nothing has been what I'd expect so far. I'm not being rude on purpose; it can just be difficult for me to remember when I'm upset."

And even more belatedly, to Jintou, she turned and inclined her head stiffly--if he'd notice it, that was.

"It isn't you." Parsing how that sounded after it came out of her mouth, she added, "I have a lot of pressure on me over my looks due to my family, and how they'll affect my future. That's why I don't like being stared at. I've already seen how I can easily become nothing but my looks to many people."

'House' didn't mean much to her at all. Not a Clan, then, unlike the other two. Yet he seemed to almost have more pride for it than she did for her own Clan.

It must be nice, to be proud of your family.

And it wasn't like he was useless--Jintou clearly had herbal and medicinal knowledge already. That had proved useful already. It wasn't an area Moriko had much experience with; her clan didn't often go into the medical branch.

Even if he was obsessed with food.

Or maybe he was poor and didn't get much to eat normally? Hm. A thing to file away.

Moriko glanced at the door when it clunked open, but didn't expect much response from the teacher. He'd yet to directly respond to much of anything any of them had said, so she was fairly sure the trend would hold. Sure enough, they were only dismissed.

Four--Kei--seemed to expect another glass of water in the face or somesuch. Moriko didn't let her reaction to that show beyond a slight frown; there was no reason to do that again since all the irritants were gone from his eyes.

She did scribble down everything he said in point form, mind, with writing that would likely be barely legible to anyone else. Then she added 'physical reset?' to the notes as a header, and with a quick glance at the teacher underlined it.

"You flickered in space and blurred out of existence in one spot to reappear in your previous one," she said absently, tearing off the paper from the notepad. She set the pencil and pad down on the nearest table to fold the paper and tuck it into a hidden pocket on her skirt. Up close, it would be obvious that her clothes were more well-worn than might be expected, if one knew her family. "One moment you were at the front under the effects of the poison and the next you were apparently just as you were before."

She might have been able to take the whole notepad and pencil, but. No point, really. Only the notes were important. Especially since no one else had taken any. The written record was better than the memory, after all.

"I..." She hesitated, looking for the first time uncertain. "Yes, actually, I have someone to meet up with." Tsukiya would want to hear about all of this--another reason for the notes. "I'll have to take a rain check. Likely we'll meet up again; it isn't that big a place. I'll see you all some other time."

She brushed nonexistant dust off of her skirt, a clear affectation, and proceeded out.

...To get lost in the Academy for a half-hour before making it out and toward the Bazaar to pick up her friend.

Oh well. Better after than before and late.

[Topic Left]

Spoiler

Total Word Count: 4954 over 6 posts. Cheers; great class.

 

[Ringo]

"Jintou, Third Son of House Oba...” Ringo parroted as if in deep thought. Had he heard of the Oba clan before? He wasn’t too sure. “Nice to meet you, Jintou!” Flashing his typical grin, the boy listened as his new friend offered to assist him in learning more about the healing arts. Ringo never particularly held interest in this subject, but today’s dramatic events piqued his curiosity. If he was going to save his mom and dad someday soon, too, he’d need every useful skill at his disposal. “Much appreciated, Jintou! I’d definitely like to learn more from you.”

As the two boys socialized, he partially tuned in to Kei's conversation with their female classmate. Kei was back to his chipper self - boy, he bounced back fast. “Not that I’m shocked,” Ringo confirmed to himself, “my cousins out from the country are made of something else.” In response to everyone becoming acquainted with one another, the blue-haired girl introduced her own name point blank. Immediately, her surname rang a loud bell in the boy’s head. “Tsurara..” He wasn’t sure if he heard of Jintou’s clan, but he was certain he heard of the Moriko’s family. Admittedly, the young Mugen hadn’t paid too much attention to the shinobi world or its history prior to his parents’ disappearance and, thus, his memory was foggy, but he recalled associating the Tsurara clan with other blue-haired, fair-skinned folk.

He pondered her lineage only briefly until she continued her introduction. Moriko seemed almost apologetic for her demeanor or, maybe, she was just a little self-conscious. Ringo wasn’t a fan of her previous actions, but he understood them in a way. Plus, the girl was presenting herself more social than he initially thought she’d be; the boy took this as a good sign for potential friendship. “It’s okay, Moriko,” he assured, “ninja life is weird in general. I’m glad to meet you.” The girl directed her attention at Jintou and explained her qualms about being stared at. Now that she mentioned it, she was pleasant on the eyes. “She’s almost as pretty as mom,” he noted to himself. Ringo wasn’t too hung up on her appearance as she claimed many were, but she did have his sympathies. If what she claimed was true, then it must be exhausting to be constantly treated like some doll by others. Sensitive to her insecurity, the boy made a mental note to avoid complimenting the girl's appearance if they were to meet again.

As conversations continued, the instructor unlocked the door and dismissed the class. Ringo halfheartedly saluted their instructor with two fingers; this was his 'so long' to the odd, lizard robot-man. Although his methods were cruel and unusual, he did learn a thing or two today. Ultimately, he was just relieved that Kei ended up okay and excited that he was meeting new friends. Speaking of his cousin, the previously poisoned boy invited the other kids to the Mugen clan household before zipping away on his skateboard. Moriko excused herself as she was busy, so Ringo said goodbye to her with a subtle wave and smile. “See you next time, Moriko!"

Turning to Jintou, the boy rubbed the back of his head and motioned toward the door. “So how about it, Jintou,” he asked cheerfully, “down for some grub at my place? Kei’s parents cook a mean meal.” If the boy agreed, Ringo would then guide him and converse with him further as they made their way to his place. If not, he’d then see the boy off with a friendly goodbye.

Spoiler

Total WC: 3,561 | Post Count: 6

Thank you for the class! This was definitely a blast and everyone's RPing was amazing. Until next time!

 

[Jintou]

Is there a notion known to the world that your perceptions of a person solidify once you learn their name? Does a true first impression require more than a face and an act? And to that effect— what if you’ve given them a name? Does that create a sense of exclusivity, or perhaps custody, such as when you name the stray cat you’ve taken in or your firstborn child? I could set my eyes on him for one thousand perceived days in an instance and still not have known what it meant for Jintou to have truly met the fellow children he’d call peers. Yes; what it felt like to have a kinship with the denizens who called the city behind the wall home. To an outsider, it’s probably easy to dismiss: the notion that he really had anything in common with his classmates. Jintou was likely grasping at straws with the assumption but in knowing them, perhaps he finally didn’t feel so alone in his pursuit of an iron-banded village crest: the symbolic hitai-ate. Even if he wasn’t entirely certain where the road to becoming a shinobi was taking him, he could find solace in the fact that it wasn’t one he’d travel alone.

Kei. Ringo. Moriko. His attention drifted between all three peers easily until the expected skip around Moriko as if she had revealed the serpent coiled hair and petrifying gaze of the mythical Gorgon. Despite his awkwardness, his comforted smile wasn’t any less resolute. For a long moment, Jintou clutched his bident and leaned against it, quietly watching the revelry of his peers—or maybe friends— as Kei explained the Doctor’s phenomena to Moriko. But of course, that led Jintou to consider their instructor one more time and both the alien terror and undeniable benevolence he displayed at his leisure. If anyone would ensure that the road for him and his new comrades proved to be a perilous journey, it would be Doctor Kurohane. He was a puzzling creature who stood opposite to the children in every conceivable way. In truth, Jintou would have been satisfied if he could have asked the doctor’s age, but Matron Sagiri said that was a rude thing to inquire of an adult.

But then, Jintou brightened as his invitation to share insight on the herbal arts was taken pretty much literally, and he found himself on course to venture back to the Mugen home. He choked at first with the right words fighting to escape his throat, but the gap provided the space for Moriko to politely decline first. Jintou didn’t know whether that was something he wanted or not, at least not at first as he gave a chirping reply: “Oh, sure.” Though the promise of greater delights than the twinkie-like consistency of the bread cake was enough bait for Jintou, he was admittedly quite curious to see what a proper home looked like. Quite literally: he had never ventured inside of one before.

With the Doctor granting their dismissal and Kei leading their escape, it was Ringo and Jintou moving towards the door next with Moriko already in a head start towards the opposite direction outside. The robotic nature of Doctor Kurohane saw him left behind easily without so much as a goodbye from his students, not that he seemed to care for such things. However, Jintou lagged in the door for just a beat and turned around to call out anxiously. “Thank you for sharing your wisdom, sensei,” he said before vanishing, “and the extra cakes.” Several spongy cakes wrapped in plastic made a crinkling sound, bobbing in a loose grasp against his chest as he went.

Once outside the portal Jintou also tried for Moriko one last time, but she was a quick one, halfway down the corridor. “Hey, Miss Tsurara” Jintou stage-whispered to the fleeting classmate, almost hoping she was already out of earshot. “Next time, I hope we get to see what you can do.” He instantly regretted the words as they left his mouth— unsure of whether they sounded like anticipation or sarcasm towards her inaction during the scenario. Jintou looked to Ringo anxiously, maybe even for support, but as Moriko turned a corner it appeared that he indeed spoke his comment a second too late.
Better luck next time, kid.

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-- wc717
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-- This thread was splendid and you were all a joy to RP alongside. Let's do this again.