Starting Steps: One Foot After Another! [OPEN]

[Chikamatsu Shin]

Stepping into the open space of the training grounds at the Academy, Shusuke placed his hands together and surged a small amount of chakra through his system. Grabbing his father's blade he darted forward towards one of the training dummies. Disappearing in front of it his body apparated behind it and began a flurry of blows towards the wooden structure, small shallow incision began to appear across the dummy as the small boy darted back and forth around the target. Stopping a few feet in front of the dummy a bead of sweat could be seen dripping down his brow. He still had a lot to learn but he felt confident for his age bracket when it came to his speed and agility. Turning to take a couple of steps away he spun the blade into the air before catching it with his off hand and sliding it back into his sheath.

The sun was high in the sky, marking it was around midday but he had no classes this day. His eyes looked around the field to see if anyone else was out here. He wasn't too familiar with his peers, which he was okay with. Children can be so immature and he couldn't be bothered for most of their trifling ideas. He much preferred the company of his elders, though for a child his age most people he encountered was his elder. Pulling out his canteen he took a sip of water and smiled. He was excited to become a ninja, much like his parents, and mold his body and mind into that of a weapon. He positioned himself to go for another round with his fingers softly touching his hilt, sliding them gently across the grip. He lowered his body into a striking position.

[MFT:297]

 

[Uchiha Mirei]

[OOC note: I went ahead and posted after all. It's just, I came up with a slightly unorthodox way to get my character to interact with yours, and I really wanted to give it a shot ]

Just as he was done twirling his sword, Shusuke was approached by a girl: she looked to be around his age, although she was noticeably shorter than himself, and she had bright eyes and an exceedingly cheerful, cute smile on her face.

Uh... I'm sorry to bother you, but... You're Yamanaka Shusuke-kun, aren't you? I saw you in class before, but I never got the chance to talk to you: I just wanted to say, what you just did with that blade was really cool! Do you always train like that?

She was about as nosy as you'd expect from a kid that age... And yet at the same time, she was speaking with a very formal, polite speech pattern, using proper pronouns and honorifics, which was well ahead of what would be normal for a mere child: this overall gave the impression of a child who had had a proper, strict upbringing, in a traditional, possibly rich and/or noble family.

 

[Chikamatsu Shin]

[OoC: I am 100% here for Unorthodox! I’m glad you joined ]

Shusuke turned at the voice of a new comer, he raised an eyebrow as he looked over to who claimed to be a classmate of his. To be completely honest he hadn’t paid any attention to any of his classmates, they were children after all. He let out a confident sigh before he let go of the hilt of his blade, and defused the chakra that he was channeling throughout his body.

”Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t see you there.” He shifted his right arm across his chest with a clenched fist before slightly bowing. ”That would be me, but I’m sorry I must have missed your name. I’m not the best at remembering them.” While technically not a lie it’s less of him having a hard time recalling them but more of a hard time deciding to learn them in the first place. Though he knows many of the older individuals throughout his regular day to day life such as the different shop keeps and waiters his family regularly visits, he never bothered befriending the local children. Though the way this girl was talking was more up his alley. None of the useless ramblings about nonsense, and straight to the point.

”When I am outside of the house, yes it is. The folks back at home would prefer I actually work on the family techniques, but I’d rather build up my speed and agility than worry about becoming a sensory type shinobi.” His eyes looked her up and down before continuing. ”How about you? Are you one to train with a blade?” A soft smile came across his face, perhaps she wasn’t like the regular imbecile that called this place their school.

 

[Uchiha Mirei]

The girl replied by doing the gesture with the hand behind her head while letting out a slightly embarrassed grin.

Teehee... Nope, swinging blades around is not my thing at all! You can probably tell, but I'm kind of small... But wow, you already sound so sure about what you want to do! Honestly I don't think about that at all: I have a lot of people who watch over the growth of my strengths, so as long as I try my best I'm sure things will work out somehow.

She then swiftly facepalmed as she showed Shusuke a cute little blush

Oh, but where are my manners? I completely forgot to introduce myself! My name is...

Mizuki!

A voice suddenly called out, coming from somewhere near the school's main gate. The person who had let out that voice came forth, finally entering Shusuke's field of vision, and...

A cool-looking onee-san has appeared!

Clearly older than both Shusuke and the little girl, this person was quite a bit taller than them, and despite looking reasonably young herself her body was already starting to show a defined shape, marking her as a teenager. Her most notable traits were her very long, toned legs, as well as the bizarrely bright color of her hair, somewhere between orange and pink.
Approaching the little girl, the newcomer put a hand on her shoulder, with a gesture that radiated protectiveness.

There you are, Mizuki. Come on, if your morning activities are done then we need to hurry: mom has an errand for us, and then we have afternoon training with dad.

Yes, Onee-sama!

The little girl chirped in reply, looking up at the newcomer with a content smile.

Oh?

The latter remarked, as though she was only now noticing Shusuke: one of her eyes was completely covered by a bang of her hair, but the gaze from the other one was very intense, almost a glare: yet there was no hostility in her demeanor, she felt more like she was studying the boy in front of her, as if to memorize his facial features.

And who might you be? A classmate?

She finally asked.

[OOC note: so yeah, THIS is my character. Up to now you were interacting with my NPC little sister: since she's supposed to be your same age, I figured I'd use her as a "bridge" of sorts, to give our characters something in common to start interacting]

 

[Chikamatsu Shin]

"That is completely fine, not everyone excels in swordsmanship, I am sure you will find your discipline." A practiced line he has had to rehearse before speaking to his peers because many of them were idiots that had no place learning the ninja arts. He was quickly losing interest until he heard another stronger voice shout out. So her name is Mizuki. He thought to himself, though he doubts he will remember it in a few days.

This older girl walked over and began to address Mizuki as if they were siblings. She was clearly not a student, perhaps a Genin as she still looked rather young. Her body was more toned than the average girl of her age so clearly she was a fighter.

Inojin was wearing a layered outfit, to encourage overheating to help build up his endurance. A darker grey hoodie, with wrappings on the forearms to prevent the loose clothing from getting in the way of combat, was worn under a light grey pair of overalls. His pale skin was vibrant under the harsher light, but his piercing blue pupil-less eyes and platinum blond hair were clear evidence of his Yamanaka blood that any shinobi would be able to recognize. His gaze matched that of the newcomers, not moving his gaze away nor blinking as long as she maintained this level of intensity.

"The name is Yamanaka Shusuke, I assume you're Mizuki-chan's keeper, then?" He said with a cocky grin while making a jovial jeer towards the newcomer.

 

[Uchiha Mirei]

The girl kept staring down at the young Yamanaka for a moment... And then she cracked up, a big grin appearing on her face.

Pffffffff... Ahahahahah! Oh come on, not intimidated at all? I thought you students were supposed to be in awe, when a full-fledged shinobi shows up! And I made sure to act mysterious and distant, too!

Onee-sama, Shusuke-kun is cool, you know!

Mizuki interjected, a big grin on her face to match her sister's

He was training with that blade of his earlier: he was going *schwing schwing*!

Was he now? Well, I'd surely love to see that one of these days: it's good to have kids with potential in the village.

And with that, the girl turned to face Shusuke once again.

Anyway, my name is Uchiha Mirei: you can probably tell, but Mizuki here is my cute little sister. It's my pressure to meet you: feel free to call me "Mirei-sempai"!

She then added, as her grin got smug for some reason.

Onee-sama, you're showing off again...

Mizuki meekly pointed out, but Mirei didn't seem to pay her any mind.

 

[Chikamatsu Shin]

”I’m sure a mean mug will get a response from the children of citizens, but I was raised by full-fledged shinobi.” He looks her up and down again with a raised eye brow and grinned. ”And in the most respectful way, you seem to be a greenhorn yourself. I mean you don’t seem to be much older than myself. crossing his arms before raising a hand to wave away his remarks he chuckled slightly.

At sound effect that his blade apparently made the boy would grip the hilt of his father’s tanto and make a single hand seal causing electrical currents to plunge through the blade as he pulled it out. Looking back at the target before addressing Mizuki-chans excitement, Shusuke would speak with a cocky grin. ”That’s not all it does.” And with that his arm swept across his torso causing the charged blade to escape his grasp and fly through the air like a bolt of lightning. Sinking a few extra inches deeper into the wooden target the short blade plunged to the hilt into his mark.

”I think there’s few who enroll into the academy that are actually cut out for this line of work.” His eyes would hesitate on Mizuki-chan for a moment longer than they should before reconnecting with Mirei-san, an equal in the arrogant boy’s eyes.

”The pleasure is mine, Mirei” He grinned back at the older girl before turning towards the target to retrieve his blade. Placing his hand on the hilt a cracking sound could be heard as he ripped the blade free, flicking it in the air as if removing blood before returning it to its nearly hidden sheath along the small of his back.

His gaze darts back towards Mirei-san. ”So, Uchiha, what is it you do? Feabile attempts at Genjutsu or are you an arsonist?” The sheer amount of sass and back talk coming from this small child makes you wonder how he doesn’t get beat around by older shinobi on a regular basis.

 

[Uchiha Mirei]

The blatant disrespect in Shusuke's tone of voice made Mirei arch an eyebrow: her expression, which had brightened into a smile a moment earlier, was now back to cold.

Watch it, kid. I like to have a good laugh, don't hold grudges, and I'm not super serious about my status or my clan... But you shouldn't mistake that for stupidity or weakness: I'm willing and able to slap a brat who doesn't know his place. I'm your elder and I graduated to genin before you, so you should be calling me sempai: get it right!

A cocky grin appeared on her face as a thought crossed her mind

Unless you're saying that you want me to show you, what it is that my clan does?

As this exchange was going on, Mizuki was looking back and forth from her sister to her classmate, an increasingly panicked expression on her face.

Onee-sama, please! You're not really going to pick a fight with a mere kid, are you?

Well, he started it.

B-but he's just a kid! You're supposed to be the bigger person!

Mizuki was trying to act as a mediator here, but she failed to realize that she was probably risking offending Shusuke way more than her sister was, what with calling him "a mere kid" to his face twice in two consecutive lines.

 

[Chikamatsu Shin]

The two shinobi standing eyelocked for a moment, it's almost as if you could see bolts of lightning launching from their eyes trying to assert dominance over the other. Shusuke's finger itching to show this Genin that her rank held no merit to him as it was just a marker that she was born before him.

"By all means, if you are wanting to try and show these skills you claim to have I am not one to stop you."

His gaze wouldn't leave that of Mirei, but he would address the student that was apparently his classmate. Her comment definitely wouldn't go unnoticed. A sigh slipped from his lips as his pupiless eyes would shift to lock onto Mizuki-chan.

"Please don't lump me in with the children here that are trying to learn the basics. Some of us learned from our family well before the age to be accepted into the academy."

Pointing towards Mirei the boy's face shifted from a pure leer to a more playful challenging gaze.

"Okay how about this, Uchiha Mirei, you pick a time and place and we will see how your legendary Sharingan holds up to a true Genjutsuist, unless you are afraid of a mere child..."

Hook...

Line...

and Sinker...

If this Genin wanted respect she was going to have to earn it, after all... Respect was a reward Shusuke did not hand out lightly.

 

[Uchiha Mirei]

At those words, Mirei let out a hearty laugh. Cocky kids pissed her off, but gutsy challenges put her in a good mood, and it looked like right now the latter was out-weighting the former. Borrowing a pen from her sister, she produced a small piece of paper and wrote something on it.

Here, take this, kiddo.

She made sure to stress the last word with a big grin.

On that paper is my home address: surely you know where the Uchiha Compound is in Maple Town, right? You want a piece of me, all you have to do is just come and get me, I'll take you on any time! But for now we cannot really make a scene right in front of the academy, so I recommend you just go home and cool off a bit for now: if you're planning to come after me, you better prepare your best shot.

With that, Mirei turned around to leave... Although, Mizuki still looked hesitant about the whole situation.

Why did things turn out like this...

She murmured as she hurried after her sister.

 

[Chikamatsu Shin]

Shusuke reached out and took the paper, quickly looking over it and reading the address. A grin took to his face. She didn't live that far away from his own address. He took the paper and folded it up and placed it in a pocket, it looks like it will be a real fight after all. He was curious how this was going to end up. To be completely honest this will be his first actual altercation. Before this incident the only combat he had training in was against his parents and they most definitely pulled their punches, but Shusuke knows that this fight will be different. He wondered if the difference between his techniques and hers was enough to win him the victory. Looking over to the young girl he gave Mizuki a playful wink before turning his back and getting back into a ready position.

"Well, Mirei, I guess only time will tell who will be the victor. I hope your eye can keep up with me."

A cocky grin took to his face as another surge of chakra took to his body. Sparks of electricity would coat his small blade as he continued his training course that he was interrupted in. Unless the Uchiha sisters wanted to speak with him more he would continue to put everything he had into his training, afterall he had a big fight coming up soon. It wasn't everyday he had a true reason to be practicing his sword techniques. He wanted to prove he was worth the effort to become a shinobi.

[Topic Ended? unless you wish to continue it]
MFT:261

 

[Chikamatsu Shin]

[Topic Ended/Closed]