Trouble in Paradise [Open RP]

[Chigokai Yuka]

Ame had no idea that the Leaf had it’s very own public library. For all the years that she’s lived in the village, no one ever thought to mention it to her. She had already worn out all the book shops, her personal collection starting to run a bit dry. So when she heard about silent safe haven, she immediately rushed over, following the directions one her sensei had written down for her.
It was a bit cloudy out today, the wind blowing her hair all around her face and sending a chill up her arms. Looking up as she walked, she tried make a few shapes from the clouds, but they were too clumped together to see anything. Before she had a chance to look forward again, she found herself suddenly come to a halt. Whatever she had run into started yelling at her, telling her to watch where she was going. She kept her gaze down, not wanting to look at whoever was so angry with her. The person sounded young, around her age, maybe older, and definitely male.
Giving a small nod in place of a full bow, Ame hurried her pace, quickly finding herself standing in front of the library. The building was so much bigger than she imagined and she nearly gave a smile at the sheer size of it. Containing her excitement as much as she could, she hurried her way in.
The smell of old books and scrolls was a scent that Ame could live off of. Without a second thought, she followed the signs on the bookshelves, pulled off books on medical ninjutsu, hereditary jutsus by clan, and a couple on genjutsu. After filling her arms with the abundance of reading materials, she found a secluded table in the corner of the main room and started reading.
It wasn’t long that she sat in silence, though. Suddenly, a group of four boys, final year academy students she guessed, paraded in with no volume control or sensitivity. The one that seemed to be leading them all looked up and locked eyes with Ame instantly. He started shouting out at her and the four made their way over. Ame recognized one of them by their voice as the person she ran into on her way here.
The boys were making a ruckus. Against all her protests, they started knocking over her piles of books, flipping them open and knocking them over. The “leader” pulled the book she reading out her hands, laughing at the fact that all the material she picked out was educational.
Ame tried her hardest to hold in the tears, she really did. But before she knew it, salty wetness was falling down her face and a roar of thunder echoed throughout the library. With every sob, lightening flashed closer, threatening to crack the windows of the building. Rain pounding against the walls of her safe place, she heard the boys start calling her a freak, making the connection between the sudden weather and Ame’s emotional state. But the name calling only seemed to make things worse.

 

[Megumi Tanigawa]

Flipping through the pages, of medical journals and books on botany. Megumi was reaching into developing her own poison, to use with her puppets. Using a store bought or well known poison would do no good, as most ninja carry antidotes for those well known poisons. Taking a look through the medical journal and seeing the affects of the Carukia Barnesi or the box fish. The effects seemed to be perfect for a battle, as the massive increase in heart rate on top of the already high heart rate from physical exhaustion, would make her enemy drop from a heart attack almost instantly.

As she continued her research on the subject, she heard a group of children causing a ruckus. Trying to ignore it as the last time she yelled at somebody, she had to help with a photo shoot. Putting the noise in the back of her mind, as she continued to plan out how she would acquire the subject to extract and increase the potency of the toxin. She could perhaps call in a favor from one of the merchant she did business with, but they will charge her an arm and a leg for it. Looking to see if she could find a species closers to her country, the racket increased in volume and something odd happened. As she heard a younger girl’s cries the weather outside went from an overcast to a full on thunderstorm, with winds strong enough to crack the glass.

Putting a pin in her studies she had to find out what had caused this sudden change in weather. As she thought about what had happened, she would think about the group of boys and then the added voice of a younger girl, followed by a storm instantly. It seems the group had caught onto the girl being the cause as well, but they did not stop instead they persisted. While she was not a fan of bullies this case was more serious as the storm could harm others.

Making her way to the boys, she would see four of them with one holding the book and leading the group in their bullying of a young girl. Looking at the focus of the boys hate, she saw a girl that looked younger than herself and was smaller than her. She had blue eyes and hair to match almost as if she was part of the storm herself.

The bullies seemed to take notice of Megumi’s presents and scoffed at her, “ What do you want! We don’t have any business with you or are you here to defend the freak”? The leader would point at her prosthetic arm that Megumi showed proudly. She had quite enough of the boys, and pressed two fingers of her right hand together forming a sting made out of chakra. Plucking the string with her left hand. The leader would continue obviously annoyed by her ignoring him and appearing as if she was looking at her nails “ I guess a freak like you…”. Suddenly the boys stop talking, in fact they did not do anything at all.

Megumi would make the chakra strings that she had brought out dissipate and would move past the boys and look at the young girl with a look of indifferences. “ Don’t waste your tears on those boys, they are not worth it”. Megumi did not want to tell the obviously meek girl that her ability was putting others at risk. As it most likely will make her feel worse, and it seems her ability is tied to her emotions so that would only make it worse. Looking over to the leader and taking the book out of his hands and looking at it. Seeing that it is a medical book, gave her an idea about what to do. Walking over to the girl and placing the book down on the table see was sitting at. “ Quite advanced for a student to be reading, having an interest in the medical field and wanting to help other is a very admirable goal”. Looking at the girl with a more friendly expression, “ It’s amazing that you can even understand this, a feat i doubt your company can boast about. May i have the name of the future doctor that stands before me”? Looking at the girl, with a smile she would try to talk about her interest to calm her down.

 

[Chigokai Yuka]

Ame hated that she let her emotinos get the better of her. Very rarely did she ever let herself but she just couldn’t seem to hold back this time. All she wanted to do was read. The winds outside howled ferociously as the four bullies in front of her continued their ongoing assault of harsh words.

In a matter of seconds, they were quiet, though. Looking up through bloodshot eyes that tears still ran out of, she saw a girl with jet black hair and brilliant blue staring down at her with a smile. Looking behind the girl, she noticed that the four boys previously harassing her were frozen where they stood. Ame could hardly even see them breathing.
Genjutsu? She thought, having read about it in one of her books at home. She mentally thanked the girl before her who was holding the medical book she was reading before. “ Quite advanced for a student to be reading, having an interest in the medical field and wanting to help other is a very admirable goal” she commented. t’s amazing that you can even understand this, a feat i doubt your company can boast about. May i have the name of the future doctor that stands before me”

Ame was a bit shell shocked. She didn’t talk to people much and people didn’t really like talking to her. So for someone to purposefully come and help her like this fellow student did made her almost smile. In the back of her mind, she could hear the winds outside slowing down and the thunder sounding farther and farther away.
“A-Ame. Hayashi Ame is my name,” she spoke quietly, wiping at her tear stained cheeks and taking back the book that was offered to her. Slowly, she stood up and started picking up the scripts that the boys had knocked over. “Thank you,” she whispered, appreciatively, enjoying the silence that was now returning to the library.
As she picked up the books off the floor and started putting them back into piles on the table, she looked up at the building’s windows. A couple had small cracks in them and they covered in rain that was still lightly falling. Fortunately, no water seemed to be leaking through. She just hoped everything in the village was still okay. The clouds seemed to be lightening up outside as well. A few tears still fell but she wiped them away faster than they get come out. Her sleeve was now soaked with saltwater.

 

[Megumi Tanigawa]

The girl seemed to tense up as Megumi spoke to her. She did not remember putting the girl under a genjutsu, but she did think about it as a last resort if she would not calm down.

Seeing a smile creep across the girl’s face as she looked at her. Megumi pondered on who she was. She has heard of a clan that controlled the weather. Santaru was the clan if she remembered correctly. They were native to the cloud, so perhaps this girl was from there as well. Would be odd for such a predominant clan, that welds the power over the symbol of the cloud to leave. She had heard that their power can go out of control based on extreme emotion. Could it be that one of their clan members lost control and were banished due to them becoming a danger?

Hearing the weather being to withdraw that could shyly introduced herself by her full name, at least she was polite. “ Nice to meet you i am Tanigawa Megumi”. As she wiped her tear, she started to pick up the mess the boys caused. Helping the they quickly cleaned up the mess that the bullies made. Hearing a thank you from the girl, and seeing her look at the cracked windows, the storm had all but cleared even though she still had a few tears that she wiped onto her now damp sleeves.

Megumi would look at the windows that would need to be replaced sooner or later then back to the girl and her paralyzed company. Snapping her fingers, she would release the boys from their own personal hells she concocted just from them. The boys did not make a sound as Megumi leered at them. They understood that she would make their nightmare a reality if they did not reform their behavior. The group would quickly apologise to the young girl and leave, running. “ Tsk tsk, no running in the library”. The group would stop in their tracks and walk to the exit.

Looking back over to Ame and giving her a quick flash of a smile, “ I think they learned their lesson”. Turning to Aem, Megumi stood next to a chair looking at the stack of books. “ I know that this is not the best place for a conversation, but i was doing some research of my own. Perhaps i can join, if you are a new student i could give you a few pointers on what to expect if you would like? Megumi wanted to find out more about this girl as she held a very interesting power. However she has never saw her in school, perhaps she is a new student or maybe she is not becoming a shinobi at all.

 

[Chigokai Yuka]

Ame flinched at the feeling of the girl wiping at her cheek, all the while giving her name, but slowly relaxed when realizing there was no threat. Standing up, books in hand, she set her current read off to the side so she could pick up where she left off soon. She watched as Megumi released the bullies from her genjutsu, giggling a bit at their shell-shocked state. A far-off crack of lightening made her quickly get a hold of her laughter, taking in deep breaths to calm herself.

“I know that this is not the best place for a conversation, but I was doing some research of my own,” Ame looked up at the sound her friendly company’s voice. “Perhaps I can join, if you are a new student I could give you a few pointers on what to expect if you would like?” Her eyes widened at the thought. No one had ever asked to hang out with her before. Technically they wouldn’t really be “hanging out”, just studying together. But it was the closest to the real thing she had gotten in a long time.
Attempting to contain her excitement, Ame eagerly nodded. Megumi seemed to know quite a bit more than her. And she even knew genjutsu, a topic that Ame severely wanted to advance in.

Quickly, she searched through her piled of books, picking out the medical novel she was reading, a genjutsu study book, and a guide on all the known clans in the country. With the three reads in her hand, she headed towards the check out center. “Um,” she started as she waited for the librarian to stamp each book. “We could talk about some sweets? If you’d like, that is,” now more than ever, Ame was desperately craving a slice of sweet strawberry cake. The stress of the recent events was catching up to her and sugar was her go to therapy.

 

[Megumi Tanigawa]

Megumi proposition to study together, caused the girl to have an interesting reaction. Thinking about why she would be so excited by sharing a table for studying, Megumi thought back to her ability and how she was treated. Perhaps this was an everyday occurrence for the young girl, and it has worn her down and ruined her self confidence. Whatever the case may be, she was eager to spend time Megumi which made her slightly happy that the girl was so interested in her. However she is not spending time with her as a friend, she wanted to find out more about this sea blued haired girl.

Leaving for a moment to gather her medical journal, biology and poisons. Megumi would walk back to see that the girl seemed to be checking out her books at the librarian's desk. Finding it odd that she did not want to study in the library, but maybe the previous event had ruined the library for her. Meeting the girl, at the deck and placing the books she wanted to take out after her. The librarian would look at Megumi, “ Why does something happen every time you are here”. Megumi would shrug, “ If you're here as much as i am, something is bound to happen”. Sighing at Megumi the librarian would stamp her card.

Hearing the timid voice of the girl, Megumi would turn to look at her with interest. She was not a very good conversationalist, and her lack of confidence and timid nature to even someone who helped her showed that she was not trusting. Thinking about what could've happened to make her like this, the topic of sweets came up. She wanted to talk about sweets but her eyes showed that she was more interested in eating them than talking about them.

Collecting her books, Megumi would give the smaller girl a grin. “ Why talk about sweets when we can eat them”. Walking to the exit of the library, she would turn around and look at the girl, as she open the door with her back. “ Are you coming, i know a great place to get some nice traditional sweets”. Exiting the library, Megumi would wait for the girl outside. Looking around the village seemed still in one piece, and the ground was soaked with results of the girl’s powers.

 

[Chigokai Yuka]

Ame smiled when Megumi suggested going out for a bite. Unfortunately, her coin purse was running a bit dry. She was sure she could make do with something small though.

In the midst of her thoughts, Megumi was already making her way to the exit calling out for her. Hurriedly, Ame stuffed the books in her messenger bag, apologized to the librarian for the racket, and shuffled over to her new acquaintance.
Once aside, she surveyed they area. Luckily, nothing seemed to be too damaged. A few buildings were missing a couple shingles off the roof but that seemed to be the extent of it. Sighing in relief, she looked up the sky. The clouds from earlier seemed to be drifting off, leaving Ame’s imagination to run wild. She picked out shapes and creatures in them, content for once in how things were currently turning out.

“Ya know,” she spoke up, after walking in silence for a bit. “You remind me a lot of my Baa-chan. She was very kind as well. Always wanting to help people in trouble.” She looked over and gave Megumi a small smile, mentally keeping her emotions in check just enough to avoid another storm.

Thinking back to what the raven had said about the book she was reading, she decided to bring the topic back up. “Are you interesting in medicine, Megumi-san?” She hoped with all her heart that she would say yes. To know another student had similar interests to her own would be wonderful. Maybe now, she could finally have someone to talk to.




[Sorry this one is a little shorter. I tried to make it longer but just sounded like I was rambling >n<]

 

[Yume]

"Ahh! Chinja! Where do these storms come from?" Yume wondered aloud, stepping around on the paved pathway carefully in her heels. The last thing she wanted was to slip and fall. It wasn't raining anymore, but the umbrella in her hand was still open, blocking the streams of sunlight from her face instead. She hummed one of her songs to herself, using the clacking of her heels as a metronome.

Today was one of those days. Not a day to promote anything or any public events; at most, it was a day of rehearsal and practice. The touring date was still far off, but it steadily crept closer, warranting the company and herself to pick up the pace. She still had backup dancers to look for. Perhaps she'll make some calls later.

But now is not the time.

She closed her umbrella once she arrived, a little taken aback at the promotional poster of her and Kukki's picture outside by the entrance. The girl and horse looked to be bonding serenely, with Yume's forehead on Kukki's muzzle. It was promoting her song, sure... But it was also promoting the store's sweets?

Yume scratched her cheek. Did she sign for the shop to use her pictures? She'd have to ask Oppa about it later. Stepping into the small shop, she gave a quick bow to the person running in the storefront, and looked at the display case of wagashi. The back of her neck prickled on the feeling of being watched, but she brushed it off. It was probably one of the few customers that was chilling inside. The bigger decision was what to buy. For herself was easy. She pointed to the peach shaped nerikiri.

"One of these please, oh and matcha. Thank you."

But what should she bring back to Oppa? She didn't really know what kind of sweets he liked. She stared harder at the display, while the storekeeper went to brew her cup of green tea. The acoustic versions of her songs played faintly from the back of the shop.

 

[Megumi Tanigawa]

Seeing Ame, hurry along to caught her and watching look over the village to look if she had damaged the village in anyway. Megumi smiled and ated for her, as at least she was concerned about her actions. Maybe it is why she had not seen Ame around, keeping to herself and trying not to damage are hurt anyone with her powers. It was a interesting thought, she was not born with anything special and all of her abilities have been gained from training. Having your own power not under your control was a terrifying thought.

As she caught up, Megumi would lead her new acquaintance towards the shop so spoke of. As they walked in silence, Ame spoke out however she meant her words as a compliment, the person who she was compared to bothered the young puppeteer. “ I know i speak differently from the average student, but i’m not that much older than you”. Giving the girl a small, but embarrassed smile. She may be a bit more mature than others around her age, but that does not make her a grandmother.

As the kept walking, Megumi could see the small tea shop in the distance. Hearing the girl questioning her about her interest in medicine. “ No not really, i’m looking into creating my own poison to use with my puppets. Using such and well known poisons are not effective on more knowledgeable and experienced ninja”. Remember seeing a book on genjutsu and another on clans, that was among the books she had borrowed from the library. “ I’m not really interested in the medical field, but i saw the other books you picked out and i’ve read both of them and i happen to be well versed in genjutsu and in another form of genjutsu that i could not find any books on in the library. If your interested, we can talk about it over snack”. As she would finish, Megumi would guide her hand out to show the tea shop that she talked about.

As the entered one of the hostess greeted them. “ Megumi, it’s nice to see that you're making friends, you're always working it is good to see you relaxing for once”. Smile at the hostess and owner, “ Sorry, but Ame and myself are here to study over some sweets no breaks on my end. The owner would shake her head and lead them to a table.

Sitting on one of the Zaisu and waiting for Ame to get comfortable. “ I’ll have some matcha and a set of Daifuku”. Looking over to Ame, “ Order whatever you want, my treat”. As she spoke to her new acquaintance and new interest for the moment. Megumi saw a familiar face, in the form of her friend and Sensei. She was by herself and was wearing something much more casual than usual. While Megumi would of liked to say hi, maybe Yume wanted to be alone and just have some time to herself. Megumi doubted that she had a lot of free time on her hands and did not want to bother her friend and teacher.

Looking back to Ame, “ I love it here, my family is very traditional. When i’m here it makes me think as if i am back at home, working on my puppets or playing shogi with my grandfather” Enjoying the scenery and her culture that was slowly fading into modernism. Megumi would turn back to Ame, “ How about you, and your family”?

 

[Chigokai Yuka]

Ame walked with her hands in her pockets, listening as Megumi spoke. She listed off what she knew about puppeteering and poisons, but was she stuck on the fact that the raven could create her own deadly concoctions. She thought of all the ways that skill could prove useful in battle, and silently made a note to look into how make such poisons. If she was going to be a medical shinobi, she needed all the information she could get on both life and death.

The sweet shop they arrived to was fairly small but well decorated. There was a large poster in the front window of some sort of idol, and pretty lanterns decorated the exterior. There seemed to be a sale on homemade sakura mochi and Ame was immediately interested.

As they walked in, Megumi gave a quick greeting to the lady working as the hostess. She must come here pretty often Ame thought. She dismissed the casual conversation with the woman, leading the way to their seats. Looking over the menu, she was relived to find that things weren’t that expensive. But with her current lack of funds, she might only be able to afford the mochi.

“Order whatever you want, my treat,” Megumi told her after placing her own order. Sighing in relief, she turned towards the hostess.

“Sakura mochi and barley tea, please,” she said softly, just loud enough for the three of them to hear. Looking back at the puppet master, Ame noticed her gaze was focused on a girl across the room. Her bright red hair stuck out like a sore thumb and she instantly recognized her as the idol from the poster. For now, she pushed her thoughts aside, focusing on Megumi who was now asking about her family.

“Well I…don’t really have a family. I had baa-chan and jii-chan. They took care of me since I was little. I don’t remember much before I came to be with them though,” she explained. “Lord Hokage told me I was found at the gates. But that’s all I know.”

Everything she told the other was true. She didn’t know where she came from, who her family was, she would even go as far as to say she didn’t really who she was. There was a lot of blank spaces that she just couldn’t seem to fill. But she had dealt with it for so long that none of it really crossed her mind anymore.

 

[Yume]

"Sakuramochi and barley tea, please."

Ah, yes. Sakuramochi sounds good, maybe she'll get that for Oppa. It'll match his hair. Raising a finger to garner the attention of the front of house, she pointed to the sakuramochi. "I'll have a set of three of that. Takeout as well, thank you."

The idol got her order quickly, being takeaway and all and grabbed the cardboard cup of matcha and thanked the storekeeper. Turning her heel and juggling the bag of sweets, the hot drink and an umbrella in her hands, Yume made her way to the exit.

She would have, had she not skidded to a halt halfway and nearly crashed into the hostess going from door to tables. It was a small shop to manoeuvre around after all. Yume nodded her head apologetically to the hostess, and quickly turned to the pair of girls sitting down and enjoying their sweets and tea.

"Ah, Gumi!" she exclaimed with a dazzling smile. "I thought I heard your voice! With a friend, I see."

She glanced over to the unfamiliar blue haired girl and gave her the same smile. "Hello! I'm Yume." Surely she needed no introduction, but Yume did so anyway. Only without the usual finger outline of the heart - her hands were too full to do that anyway.

Yume didn't want to impose, but she didn't want to be so rude to run out the door without saying anything either.

 

[Megumi Tanigawa]

Megumi’s offer to foot the bill, caused Ame some ease. Thinking about how she might not have any money at the moment, which is not uncommon for their age group. Megumi was the awkward one once again, as her craft and work had given her disposable income. Thinking about how the samurai had orphaned many of her fellow students, including her. She was just lucky to have her grandfather.

Looking at Ame apologetically as she explained her past and family. While she did not remember much, she was told that they found her at the front of the gate. “ I’m sorry for bringing it up, i should've known that none of us have a normal household”. Megumi pounder on the girl’s words and how she stated that she had a Baa and Jii-chan. Thinking about the relief on her face, when Megumi offered to treat her.

The two would sit in silence as Megumi pondered on the girl and who and what she must be going through. Thinking about how she, no longer has any caretaker and the state of the village. Their was not a lot of facilities to take care of the amount of refugees and orphaned students from the war. The village was small in comparison to what it was, while Megumi enjoyed how it went back to it’s roots the village could not sustain such a large population. Looking to Ame with a serious expression. “ You said, you had a Baa and Jii-chan. Who is looking after you now and are you okay. I know we just met, but all leaf all family i’m just concerned”. Megumi had a deep respect for the will of fire, even if she acted cold to most. She would help her fellow leaf at the drop of a hat.

The tone was serious and very personal, but then a cheerful voice rang out shifting the mood. Looking over to the Idol that owned that unmistakably chipper voice. Giving Yume an uncertain smile as she had unknowingly intervene on a touchy subject. “ Hello Yume, i would not say friends as we just met, but then again we’re all family under the leaf”. Megumi was trying to keep their conversation between her and Ame, but she would appear odd to someone who knew her well.

Giving Ame the usual Yume greeting heart and all, Megumi did not want to dismiss a close friend. However she did not want to bring the whole village, to invade on Ame’s personal life. Looking at Yume as she finished her greeting, “ I’m surprised that you alone, and out so casually. Did you escaped your manager’s ever watchful and controlling gaze”?

 

[Chigokai Yuka]

Ame was not one to so casually give up what she knew of her family history. But for some reason she felt comfortable enough to express some of it to the girl in front of her. When Megumi asked who was taking care of her now, Ame flinched back a bit, unsure of how to respond. She could say that the village was who took care of her. But even that wasn’t entirely truthful. She had herself, and that was practically it. She would pick up odd jobs around town when she could, occasionally snacking fruit from under the distracted eye of a market salesman. She got along. With much difficulty, but she survived.

Opening her mouth to respond, She was suddenly interrupted by an overly cheerful voice. The girl from the poster, the one Megumi had glance over at, was now standing in front of their table, arms full of sweets, no doubt. She gave a small introduction before turning to Ame.

“Hello! I’m Yume,” she greeted, her hands making a heart like gesture. Ame found the movement odd but brushed it off, simply.

She nodded casually to the new person. “Hayashi Ame,” she responded, as polite and monotone as possible.

Megumi was quick to brush off Yume’s assumption of them being friends, but followed it with kind words about them all being family.

In a way, she was happy for the interruption. But in another way, she was upset at having what was supposed to be their study session come to a halt.
Ame was suddenly curious as to why Yume would have a manager, hearing Megumi mention it. Maybe she as referring to her sensei? But Yume looked a bit older than the two of them, not by much but enough to not need a sensei anymore. That’s when it hit her.

Looking back at the poster in the front of the shop, and again towards Yume, she thought back on the heart gesture she had made. She knew she had seen it before. “You’re that idol girl, right?” she interrupted, not really realizing they were in the middle of conversing.

 

[Yume]

I'm gonna totally ignore that you guys acknowledged her heart gesture when she didn't do it at all LOL

Yume rocked on her heels back and forth, a habit that Megumi probably noticed up really quick to indicate herself feeling content. The smile on her face never left as she answered both of their questions. "You're right, Ame-chan. That's me! Today is just all practice and no promotional events, Gumi. Maybe Oppa is getting soft on me."

Oh! She clamped her mouth shut as she face scrunched up. "Shouldn't say that. I might jinx it."

Shaking her head furiously to rid the thought, her usual grin was back on her face. Bright blue eyes skimmed over the table to see what sweets they had ordered for themselves. Mmm... That daifuku looked good. She should have ordered some for herself. A set of books on the table caught her eye next. Medicine, genjutsu and clans. That was quite the mix of genres they had there.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! Was I interrupting a study session? Those look pretty complex!"

At the very least, medicine seemed like a foreign language to her. The girl mostly worked with intuition, science was something that was way out of her league. Yume had one medic friend, and she was a hardass. What was it with her and associating herself with hardasses, she wondered idly.

"That's so interesting though! Do you both want to be medics?"

 

[Megumi Tanigawa]

Braiding herself in the back of her mind as she listened to Yume half heartedly. Her comment on family, caused the girl to tense up. Megumi should've known not to ask about family, but it came out so casually. The conversation had come to halt, as it was now an awkward scene as the two silently pounding on their own mistakes and past. Megumi should of known, as she did not have the greatest home life. However she had accepted it and she still had her grandfather unlike the girl, whose body language and silence said more than words could explain. At least Yume, was there to brighten the mood.

Hearing Ame, interrupted and chimed in, as she had discovered Yume’s secret. Megumi would let out a small laugh at Ame’s comment, “ See i’m not the only one who did not know who you were at first”. Thinking about the similarities of Ame’s first encounter with Yume compared to hers, all the young girl would have to do now is insult her.

Yume seemed to study them, the table and their books. Megumi would follow her gaze and notice that their orders were already there. The Puppeteer was off her game as she spazzed out and did not even notice that her order has arrived. She was so caught up in thought she did not even notice the server come by.

Yume would comment on the complexity of their books, the idol was sounding more and more like a teacher by the day. Asking if they were both interested in going into the medical field, Megumi shook her head. “ No i’m looking into human anatomy, and biology for poison and more destructive skills rather than constructive”. Looking at Ame with a small smile, “ Ame-chan is the good one out of our study group. She wants to go into the medical field and also was interested in Genjutsu. Perhaps….”. Megumi would trail off as Yume was an idol first, and she had reasons for not making her status of a shinobi common knowledge. Taking i bite of her snack to stuff her mouth, before she said something stupid. Balancing out, what to say and what not to say between friends was taxing on her lacking skills in conversation. This is why she preferred puppets.

 

[Chigokai Yuka]

Yume was…quite energetic. More so than Ame would have liked. But she seemed to be fairly nice. She’d heard a lot about idols that let fame get to their head, how they started become meaner and disrespectful. But the fire haired girl in front of her appeared to be the exact opposite.

Reaching forward for one of her sakuramochi, she bit into the sweet treat, loving the sugary taste that covered her tongue. There was only two on the plate that she ordered, but she didn’t mind at all. As much as she loved sweets, she was training to become a ninja now. She couldn’t gorge herself on junk food and sugar. It would only get in the way. She was very hungry, though. She hadn’t eaten yet today, too excited to visit the library to remember food was a very important part of living. She tried her best not to absolutely devour the mochi, wanting to savor it as much as possible.

“Do you both want to be medics?" Yume’s bright and cheery voice pulled her out of her concentration. Looking down at her books, then back up at the idol, she nodded her head once, mouth too full to properly respond.

Hand over her mouth, she chewed quickly, swallowing her bite before answering. “I want to help people,” she said meekly, taking another small bite of her snack. She looked over to Megumi as she responded too, explaining her goal to create poisons. Ame respected her for that. She could only imagine how difficult a task that could. If one simple goes wrong, it could result in unnecessary death. She also admired her work on puppets. Puppet master ninja had always amazed her, with how fluidly they were able to maneuver such huge dolls. She tuned again when Megumi was mentioning Ame’s other interest in genjutsu, stopping at the beginning of her sentence. Looking back and forth between the two girls, she easily made the connection.

Setting down the remaining half of her mochi, she looked to Yume. “Do you know genjutsu?” she sincerely hoped she would say yes. Not only for the common interest, but also for the potential to have a tutor in it.

 

[Yume]

Yume would have clapped her hands together if they weren't full with confectionery and a drink. Speaking of, Yume took a sip of her matcha before it got any colder. Ah, so good. She was still standing where she was; she wasn't going to go ahead and sit herself into what seemed to be a predetermined meeting.

"That's so like you, Gumi!" she chirped. "Oh, not that I'm saying that you're destructive or anything, um... You know what I mean! The science seems to be totally your thing!"

Smooth, Yun-Yun. Her expression turned to a fluster and she knocked a knuckle on her temple as if to scold herself, and turned to acknowledge Ame's ambitions with a smile back on her face. "Oh, that is so admirable, you're gonna do a great job if you're already reading those books. I hear the medical branch could use some manpower. I don't see my friend a lot since she practically lives at the hospital, but every time I do, she's always complaining how understaffed the wards are."

Then she was at a crossroads. Megumi first mentioned Ame's special interest in genjutsu and it seemed like she was going to suggest something. Perhaps Yume could teach something about genjutsu? Ame appeared to pick up on Megumi's hesitation and took over with hope.

Did Yume know genjutsu, indeed.

The idol's eyes crinkled up with an apologetic smile. "Oh, I never have time to study anything shinobi-related, unfortunately. Life of a performer and all... Gumi is super good with that kind of stuff though!" She glanced at her wristwatch. "Technically I should be back at the studio now, but having a chat with friends is so much better, you know!"

 

[Megumi Tanigawa]

Ame was a rare creature, she had the ability to be one of the most destructive forces in the shinobi world but she just wanted to help people. The kindness from the girl that lived in a cruel world radiated off of the sea haired girl. Megumi could not help but give a small smile at her, but felt pity as she must be scared of her own power, and wants to help others the show that she is not to be feared.

Yume looked as if she had a revelation, and wanted to clap her hands as if to share her epiphany. However her hands were full of drinks and sweets. Hearing Yume’s very smooth and all knowing words of a friend. Megumi would hold the giggle from Yume’s trip out and save her friend from sinking in embarrassment. “ Yes science is my, thing but i have a lot more tricks up my sleeve. I just have not shown it yet.”. Teasing her friend as she had developed a few new tricks since they last met. Maybe one day she would learn about her other skills and tricks. Yume would then focus on Ame’s goals and complement her and even talk about a friend how was in the medical division. Hearing about how under staffed the medical division was, there would be no doubt that Ame would be welcomed with open arms. “ Maybe, Yume could contact her friend as she could give Ame some advice when she is able”. Looking at Ame, giving her a hint at creating contacts in her future field. Having experience and contacts would only help her path to her goals.

I might for been do to her outburst, but Ame hounded Yume about genjutsu. Megumi took a drink of her tea and allowed Yume to handle the question, as she was unsure if she was still hiding her abilities as a shinobi. Seeing Yume’s eyes crinkle and a apologetic smile adorn her face, Megumi knew the answer. Handing the mantle of genjutsu to her, Megumi would smile as Yume mentioned her. “ This is true, but i have a different way of activating my genjutsu. However i can teach you about the basics and some more advanced areas of genjutsu, but i am still learning to. We will both be learning about the higher tiers of genjutsu together.

Yume would look at her watch and talk about how she should of been back by now. Megumi knew that she had a busy schedule, but maybe she was also trying to dodge the girl’s question. Smile to Yume as she talked about catching up with friends, “ Good chatting with you to Yume, try not to let that feather duster push you around to much”. No doubt when Yume, would excuse herself Ame would have questions for her. Megumi sipped her tea and readied herself for the girl’s questions.

 

[Chigokai Yuka]

At Megumi’s mention of Yume having a friend that could possibly help, her eyes widened. She had been very blunt today, so before she could say anything, she stuffed her face the remaining half of her first sakuramochi. Unfortunately, it ended up being a little too much, causing her to choke. Coughing and pounding on her chest, she quickly leaned forward for her barley tea and started taking big gulps to wash it down.

“Um,” she croaked out, her voice now slightly scratchy and tea class practically empty. She had caught the end of what Megumi was saying; an offer to learn about genjutsu together. “I would like that very much.”

Next she turned to the idol. She was here to study with Megumi and they had wasted plenty of time already. “It was nice to meet you, Yume-san. But we really should get to work now,” she told her, putting on her usual façade and cold exterior.

It wasn’t like Ame liked to be rude or heartless. She just didn’t know how else to come across. No one her age had ever shown her anything but harassment, so at this point, she was constantly on edge. Not only that, but it seemed to be the only emotion she could fake convincingly. She hated having to constantly feel bland. She wanted to at least pretend to feel something. Even if it was at the cost of making someone upset.

Looking back towards her cup she tipped it back, swallowing the last drops of her tea.

 

[Yume]

Yume gave a start at the sudden coughing fit and immediately turned to call over the hostess to assist. She'd do it herself, but... hands full, as before. "Oh dear... Excuse me! Can we get water for this young lady please?"

When the hostess whizzed by and set down the glass of water, Yume leaned over to check on Ame. "Are you alright?" It was unexpected to suddenly be met with a rather monotonous and cold reply, so much so that Yume's smile was frozen on her face as her mind scrambled in bewilderment.

With a laugh that tried its hardest not to sound overtly nervous, Yume straightened up and nodded, more to herself than the two. The brief interaction confused her immensely, but at this point there was no time to ponder about it. Her brain brushed it aside for the time being and she bade her goodbyes.

"Right. I'll let you get back to your study session. I better before Oppa calls me to yell or something." A half-hearted stare swept over to Megumi. "When are you two finally gonna get along, I swear!"

Just as the phrase left her lips, a faint repetitive beeping came from Yume--specifically, it came from her ear, where the tiny headset laid within. The girl jumped from her spot, panic spreading across her face. "Oh no! I gotta go! Aish, and I bought this for him too! I'll see you around, you two!"

And like that, she jogged out of the store as quickly as her high heels would allow.

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