โ Inohachi โ โ Broken Wings. Never meant to be. โ
Konohagakure l Genin l Scholar l Medical l Yamanaka โโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโ
Inohachi mentally cringed and was ready for more barrel of questions and prying to figure out what was going on and it didn't happen. Instead, Shikarie seemed to take interest in her side hobby all the sudden. Perplexed, Inohachi stared at her, with chopstick still in her mouth as she had food shoved in there when she asked. Slowly, she removed the chopsticks as she started to chew for a bit and swallowed. With a soft smile, "I uh.. have taken pictures. Of us. As a team. Our friends. Different things. Memories I guess," explained Inohachi as finished eating and placed the chopsticks on top of the bowl, "I... I'm still working on the scrapbook. I .. can show you after I'm done. I guess." The Yamanaka doesn't think that her friend would be interested in looking at some boring pictures but it was nice to talk about something else and different, it was helping keeping her mind off of... things. "We should visit Chosuke... I heard he opened a... food cart?" She wasn't entirely sure what his goals and plans were, just what she heard around in the house a bit.
Suiton l Raiton l 300/400 Chakra l 200/200 Stamina
Out of Chocolates:
LovelyMintKisses
Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2021 7:32 pm
{ OOC:// ...
After asking the question of inohachi's hobby she appeared to open up a bit more. Still timid but at least she spoke a bit more words"Of the team? Really?" Shikarie took a moment to try and think if she recalled getting her picture taken. Other than the initial group photo. She must have snuck some shots in with Shikarie was either sleeping or not looking."Sure, if you want to." She responded as her friend offered to show her the scrapbook she was making. Once it was finished of course. Inohachi then suggested the two of them go and visit Chosuke at his new food cart."Alright, I suppose we can do that." Her response showed no real enthusiasm but that was just normal for her. Reaching into her pocket she paid for her team and Hachi's meal.
Alice looked towards Koetsu with a bit of a smile. "Everything is fine, I just did a lot of running around. Me and that other person who said the village were under attack pushed the attackers away, and there were some guards and a girl who made explosions all over the place that helped too. Come to think of it...I should probably report to the Hokage. I haven't done that yet..." Alice brought her hand to her face as if in thought for a moment. Standing up she would grab the stuff she carried for the young boy once again. "Worry not, we'll get this stuff to your place and then I'll go find the kage and report to her." She said to Koetsu as she headed off.
xXxโIโm very glad to hear that, Miss Alice.โ Koetsu would smile brightly, but continued to listen along. โSo the bad guys are gone?โ He was impressed, โWho wouldnโt run from you, your armor is so cool.โ Koetsu was excited, was this the norm with Ninโ Life? Heโd never been anywhere thatโd been attacked, not to say it wasn't a bit frightening. No one dared touch his familyโs home. The might of a Shogun would fall upon any that tried.
xXxโI think so too, Mother would be furious if I didnโt tell her about something serious like that.โ Heโd rub the back of his head, eyes shutting, and chuckling to himself. โSoundโs good Miss Alice, Iโm right behind you.โ Heโd follow along, on to the housing district.
โ Learn 1 extra Taijutsu technique per post. โ Learn 1 extra Bukijutsu technique per post.
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โโ OOC
Notes:
Ichengo Angelus
Roy-schach
Offline
Jenni Deer
Dangerous Lunatic
Offline
Posted: Sun Feb 21, 2021 10:27 am
โ Inohachi โ โ Broken Wings. Never meant to be. โ
Konohagakure l Genin l Scholar l Medical l Yamanaka โโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโ
Inohachi nodded. "Yea... there's some of you sleeping while we trained." She was really quiet, hoping Shikarie doesn't mind. Inohachi threw out shots that wasn't good and only kept the good ones. When she offered up to Shikarie that she can look through the scrapbook some day, it doesn't seem that it mattered either way for her. It hurt a bit but she had to remind herself that's who Shikarie was. She frowned a bit when Shikarie had paid for the meal, "I wouldn't mind paying.. I could've paid." She mumbled, but was fitting to focus on other things and this was helping her, "I uh, I can cover us at Chosuke's cart..." With that, they left to go find Chosuke and his food cart.
Suiton l Raiton l 300/400 Chakra l 200/200 Stamina
Out of Chocolates:
LovelyMintKisses
Posted: Sun Feb 21, 2021 11:18 am
{ OOC:// ...
Inohachi confirmed that she had indeed took photos of their team and said the photos of shikarie were of her sleeping."Yeah that sounds about right." Was her response. She was a Nara after all. It only made since she was doing something lazy.
After paying for the meal Inohachi made a comment that should could have paid."It's no big deal. You did only have one bowl. If I had said I was going to pay your probably would have ate more." She had planned to pay for the meal from the beginning. This was her way of showing kindness without actually trying to hard. She knew that if she said she was going to treat her to a meal the chances of Inohachi order a ton more food would have increased. So naturally, she chose to not say anything about it. Getting up out of her seat her gaze was once again directed at her teammate as she offered to pay for their desserts at Chosuke's cart."Alright" With that the pair was off.
The Gilded Queen Rank:Genin ็ฃๆฐ | Classes:Puppeteer | Bloodline ๅ | Body Rank:A ๅ | Elements:Water,Earth,Lightning,Magnetism,Wood
Kiku was silent as she let Moriyama drag her around the village. Part of her, in the back of her mind, knew she shouldโve been focusing on the scenery of the village, in hopes that something would jog her lost memory. But The blonde girlโs attention was gone, her thoughts far away, as she tried to make sense of what just happened. A puppet. She was a puppet? It was an answer to a question that the girl hadnโt even asked. An answer that did nothing but spring up thousands of questions all at once. As a way to deal with the shock, at least hopefully, Kikuโs attention turned to sorting out those questions. How long had she been a puppet? Did Nimure and Momotaro know? Did Moriyama know? If so, why didnโt they say anything? What happened at Takijinsei? Was Kiku still human, or was she being controlled?
The young girl had no answers to any of those questions, but giving them form outside of the bumbling mess of thoughts helped. Moriyama had taken them to a small food stand and ordered something for them both, and it was the clatter of dishes that brought Kiku back to the world of the living. She stared at the food, and it definitely looked good. But as Kiku absent moved items around with her utensils, sheโd wondered if sheโd even be able to eat. Kiku came to the conclusion that, even if she could, she didnโt feel like it. She felt sick to her stomach. Like she wanted to throw up, but was even more frustrated that she couldnโt.
And just who was that doctor? His very presence instilled fear into the young shinobi from the moment he opened his mouth. Flashes of their brief interaction at the hospital made Kiku drop her fork with a clatter as the overwhelming urge to vomit made her reflexively go to cover her mouth. Nothing came out, of course not, but she still wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. โMoriyama.โ She finally said, not even worrying if she was cutting him off from speaking. โWhat am I?โ Kiku turned her purple eyes to the swordsman, staring at him with an odd mix of pleading and resolve. The girl's hand clenched, digging her fingers into the wood of the bar. โWhat happened in our mission?โ
tab The pair's walk through the village was far from the pleasant stroll Moriyama had envisioned in his mind. Continuing to lead Kiku, he would point out various landmarks and locations throughout the village, hoping that something might jog his teammate's memories. However, her overall lack of response told him that her mind was elsewhere. 'Guess she's still a bit rattled from the doc's big reveal.' he silently sighed. Part of him couldn't help but feel a bit guilty for her present state of mind. Perhaps if he had just told her right from the beginning, it would have made it easier for her to process the transformation she had undergone? Then again, he also was a bit annoyed that the doctor had basically delivered the news in drive-by fashion. He would have expected someone in the medical field to have a better bedside manner and take the time to explain her new state of being to her, but no. This guy had essentially been like, "Enjoy your new puppet body. Bye." and left Moriyama to deal with the aftermath.
tab As two continued to wander the village, Moriyama's eyes caught the sight of a small food stand. Whether he was actually hungry or just wanted something to keep his mouth shut, he found himself drawn towards it. "Oh hey. Let's stop here for a bite." he said, pulling him along with her to a seat at the bar. There, he put in an order for two lunch specials for each of them and once their food arrived, promptly began stuffing his face. It was nice to have something to take his mind off of his present situation, even if it was just food. However, hearing the clatter of Kiku's fork quickly brought him back to the reality of it all. And then the questioning began.
tab It's not like Moriyama could blame Kiku for asking the things she was asking. She'd been through a lot and to only have secondhand bits and pieces about it all must have been extremely frustrating. The problem was, Moriyama didn't know if he had the answers she needed. Still, given that avoiding her questions had only served to complicate the matter thus far, it seemed the optimal strategy was going to be to provide her with the best answers he could. "Right. Those are some very valid questions. So let's start with the second one about what happened on our mission." he said, setting his utensils to the side. "Well, it's a lot like what I said when you asked earlier. Our team, Nimure, Momotaro, yourself and I, were pursuing a suspicious group of individuals that lead us to the falls. There, we engaged with a woman who was as tough as she was unpleasant. Oh boy, was she awful. Anyways, we all fought her to the best of our abilities but unfortunately, you ......... died." That last word was hard to say and Moriyama could almost feel himself choke on it.
tab Though he had been doing his best to hide it outwardly, Moriyama was still wrestling with what had occurred at the falls himself. However, he knew that it was more important that he help Kiku recover so he'd set aside his own feelings on the matter for the time being. After taking a brief moment to refocus, he continued. "But, as I know you are now aware, you didn't stay dead. That was Nimure's doing. He used his medical expertise to transfer you into your new body and just in time for you to join in the battle with Momotaro and I to defeat the woman who killed you. But while we were able to emerge victorious, it seems that you lost your memories in the process of being transferred to your new body. At least, that's my best guess." With his explanation over, Moriyama took a moment to return to his meal, shoveling a large bite into his mouth. "That's what happened on the mission at least. Seems you're missing a lot more information than that but hopefully that'll all come back in time." he reassured her.
tab Having done his best to answer the second question she had posed to him, it was now time for Moriyama to attend to the first. "As for 'what you are', I'm not sure exactly how to answer that." he began, taking another break to enjoy a bite of food before continuing. "I mean, as we now know, you're in a puppet body, but that doesn't necessarily make you any less of your former self. You certainly haven't lost that sharp tongue of yours." he added, hoping a little humor might lighten the mood. "Unfortunately, when it comes to crafting, I'm really only good for swords, so puppets are a bit outside my wheelhouse. But, I may have a way of getting around that." he explained before taking another bite of his food. He then his utensils aside once more and began to focus his chakra into his hand as he extended it to Kiku. "If you'd be so kind?"
The Gilded Queen Rank:Genin ็ฃๆฐ | Classes:Puppeteer | Bloodline ๅ | Body Rank:A ๅ | Elements:Water,Earth,Lightning,Magnetism,Wood
โThatโs insane!โ Kiku shouted. The girl flung her hand, accidentally knocking her bowl of food from the table. It flew into the wall, shattering into shards of ceramic and a puddle of noodles. The stool she was on screeched against the wood as she jumped to her feet. Kiku was shorter than Moriyama, even as he sat down. But that didnโt stop her from glaring up at her squademate with her bright purple eyes, glowing like amethyst formed in flames. โYouโre lying!โ She continued, huffing. โI died, and became a puppet? You seriously expect me to believe that?! Do I look like I was born yesterday?! Youโve been lying to me this whole god damn time!โ
Kiku felt her anger rising and rising, multiplying by every racing thought that flew around in her head. โStop ******** with me!โ The girl yelled and reached up, to grab the red haired boy by the scruff of his jacket. โYou and.. And that doctor.. And those two boysโฆ youโre all in on it! I donโt know what you want from me, but youโre all some kind of sick perverts to take advantage of me like this!โ Kiku held Moriyama up with a firm grip, dangling him off of the ground. โSo what is it you want?! Huh?! What could you possibly want from me?!โ The girl shook the boy violently, without swinging him around. โJust stop lying to me, Moriyama!โ
The rage in Kikuโs face shattered from rage to painful confusion as she readied a fist, swinging at the Geninโs face. It was with all of her might, but the blow was stopped easily enough by Moriyamaโs hand, catching her fist in his palm. Kiku came to an abrupt stop. The girlโs breath came short as she was relayed, wellโฆ everything through Moriyamaโs sensory jutsu.
Every mechanism, every fuuin inscription, every bolt that held her together all flooded her mind. Like knowledge of the back of her hand. But more importantly, for the first time since sheโd awoken, Kiku was given a flash of memory. A scene played out before her. She stood in a room (her own, she presumed, with no real way of knowing). โKiku, are you paying attention?โ A voice caused the puppeteer to blink and turn towards it. One of the boys from before, Momotaro, stood next to her. He was stretched in front of her, reaching down to a workbench like he was showing her something. โHonestly, youโre hopeless with Fuuin.โ He chuckled. โYouโll need to know this so you can do repairs later.โ
โRe...pairs?โ She asked, blankly looking down at the bench. Laid out before the two of them wasโฆ her. Not actually her, but something that looked just like her, except for an open plate in the torso.
โYeah, repairs.โ Momotaro laughed. A sound that made Kikuโs heart skip a beat as she looked at the smile on his face. โYouโll need to know how to fix the inscription in case Iโm not around. See, you need to make sure it runs along the inside, like this.โ He took her hand and gently traced her fingertips over the dried ink. โThis lets the chakra flow through one section to the next, kind of like the cardiovascular system.โ
โOr a circuit!โ Kiku chimed in with a grin.
โYeah, like a circuit.โ Momotaro laughed again, which made Kiku intertwine her fingers with his. โYouโll need to ask Nimure for more specifics about the biological components, but I think youโre almost done.โ The Kaguya shinobi leaned over to plant a kiss on the girlโs forehead. โIโm proud of you, princess.โ
The words floated through Kikuโs head as the memory faded. Soon she was back at the food stall. The girl still had a grip on Moriyama, but it was much weaker and far more loose. She was using the hand sheโd used to punch him as a way to support herself against the bar. The girl was hunched over, as if she was going to throw up again, while tears streamed down her face, her body shuddering as she sobbed.
tab Despite the awkwardness of the situation that Moriyama had found himself faced with, Moriyama had thought he was handling the situation decently ..... He had thought wrong.
tab Seeing Kiku's outburst as her ramen was sent flying off the counter top, Moriyama could easily tell that she hadn't taken his revelation well. 'Oh no.' The next thing he knew, she had cast her stool aside and had closed the small bit of distance between them, glaring up at him as she continued to shout at him. Perhaps his little bit of deception from earlier hadn't exactly established himself as the most trustworthy of sources. 'Why must I suffer so for my comedy?' he thought with a sigh.
tab Moriyama wasn't necessarily concerned with Kiku's angry denial of his words, as it felt like a reasonable reaction to receiving such jarring news. However, he couldn't help but sweat a bit as she pulled him off his stool and suspended him in the air. The old Kiku had never been shy about getting in his face but she had never before had the strength to lift him up, let alone shake him about. Clearly there was more to her new body than simply giving her a second chance at life, as he would soon find out.
tab Seeing Kiku ready herself to take a swing on him, Moriyama had plenty of time to prepare to block her attack. However, with his mind preoccupied with his defense, he hadn't thought to cancel the technique he had set up before finding himself in this pickle. As such, when her fist was caught by his palm, he was flooded with a wave of information. Mechanisms, inscriptions, Moriyama could see it all, as if he was looking at every blueprint and transcription that had gone into making her new body.
tab As the info dump ended for Moriyama, he watched as Kiku's head fell and her grip on his collar loosened. It was clear that she had received the same information he had and could see that now that he had been telling the truth. Unfortunately, while this seemed to have quelled her rage, it had been replaced but an immense sorrow, her hand now shaking as she continued to suspend him in the air. While this would have the ideal time for him to break free of her grip, he elected to not take any sort of aggressive actions towards her. Rather, he gingerly placed a hand upon her head, giving her hair a few gentle strokes. "I know this is all a lot to take in but just because your body's change doesn't mean you're not still your old self. It'll take some getting used to but I promise we'll figure this all out together, you and me and Nimure and Momotaro too. So chin up, okay?" he said to her in a soft voice, offering her a warm smile in the hopes that he might give her some comfort.
The Gilded Queen Rank:Genin ็ฃๆฐ | Classes:Puppeteer | Bloodline ๅ | Body Rank:A ๅ | Elements:Water,Earth,Lightning,Magnetism,Wood
โThanksโฆโ Kiku mumbled. Her eyes scaled down to the floor as a defeated shadow covered her face. Quietly the girl put Moriyama down. While her demeanor was much more quiet than it had been moments ago, the young girl was internally struggling. Wave after wave of years worth of memories filled her head all at once. โI did make this body, huh?โ Her lips turned up into a small smile as she raun the fingers of one hand over the opposite arm. โThatโs embarrassing, that a crafter would forget their masterpiece.โ She added with a bashful chuckle.
โI, uh. Thought Iโd use my knowledge of puppets to make my own body, a perfect body.โ Kiku continued to talk when she cleaned up the mess sheโd made. โOne that isnโt just wrong.โ She clenched her hand, forcing the wooden stool to creak under her grip. She sighed and placed the stool down and turned back to Moriyama. She was still smiling, but it seemed weary. It seemed almost fake, like she was trying to sweep her outburst under the rug. โBut I didnโt think Iโd lose my memories due to the shock. Itโs embarrassing, such things should be beneath me.โ
Kiku rummaged through her jacket before pulling out a wallet. โBut, uh. Moriyama?โ She placed a wad of Ryo down on the counter to pay for the damages. She tapped the currency thoughtfully as she figured out what she wanted to say. โThanks for being around for me. Iโm not sure where Iโd be without you.โ
tab Finally finding his feet returned to the ground, Moriyama gave a sigh of relief. However, what was even more of a relief was to hear Kiku laugh, managing to work in a humble brag while making a joke about her memory loss. "Now there's the Kiku I know." he said, chuckling along with her. The lighthearted tone continued between them until Kiku brought things back to a more heartfelt moment, thanking Moriyama for helping her get through her memory loss. "Hey now. Don't go getting soft on me. It'd look back for as a swordsmith if I let you loose your edge." he joked, letting out a hearty laugh.
tab Wiping a small tear from his eye, Moriyama smiled at Kiku. "Whaddya say we get you back to your workshop? I imagine you'll want to run some diagnostics after putting that new body of yours through its first real battle." he said.
The Gilded Queen Rank:Genin ็ฃๆฐ | Classes:Puppeteer | Bloodline ๅ | Body Rank:A ๅ | Elements:Water,Earth,Lightning,Magnetism,Wood
Kiku didnโt say anything to Moriyamaโs stupid joke. She just gave a soft, yet sad, smile as she let him laugh. โYeah..โ she sighed. Something was weighing on her mind, keeping it from the moment at hand. Where had Momotaro and Nimure gone? She remembered they were there at the hospital. But neither of them were anywhere to be seen. Did they finally get tired of her? Did the two boys realize that, with her new body, they didnโt want to be around her? Kiku was certainly not human anymore, by physical standards. And who could love someone like that? As many things changed, as many things stayed the same the Genin supposed.
It wasnโt until Moriyama proposed his idea that Kiku stirred from her thoughts. โNo!โ She snapped. The idea of going back to her workshop twisted her anxieties further. The young princess took a breath to calm herself before she explained. โSorry, no. We canโt go to my shop, unfortunately. Because, uhโฆโ Kikuโs eyes shifted to the stack of Ryo thoughtfully again. Should she tell him? Well, admitting to one secret wouldnโt hurt. โMoriyama, do you remember that man we ran into at the hospital? The doctor that spoke to us?โ
Kiku shifted. It was evident by the look on her face that she was uncomfortable, even though the girl was determined to explain herself. โThat man was my father. He doesnโt know aboutโฆ"About being a shinobi? About being a girl? โ...about me.โ Kiku decided on simply, with a wave of her hand indicating to her body. โMy familyโs not really the supportive type, if you catch me. So if they found out Iโd been keeping secrets like this, who knows what theyโd do.โ
tab Though Kiku didn't seem to exactly appreciate his joke, Moriyama was happy that the tone remained light between the two ..... or at least, it did until he brought up the idea of going back to her workshop for maintenance work. Her sudden and sharp "No!" caused him to jump ever so slightly, fearing that she may enact violence upon him once more. However, as his feet still found themselves connected to the earth, he felt that he had managed to dodge a bullet and breathed a soft sigh of relief. It was then that Kiku began her explanation as to why they couldn't return to her shop, first asking him if he recalled the man they had bumped into on their way out of the hospital. "Uhhhhh. Yeeeaaah. I think so." he said, though his tone would indicate that he wasn't exactly certain. He definitely remembered some older doctorish guy stopping them while they were leaving but he didn't remember any real specifics about him, as his mind had been a bit preoccupied at the time. Perhaps he'd come to regret that someday, as Kiku then pushed through her discomfort to reveal that said man was actually her father. That's when it all came together for him. He only had a vague understanding of how her family dynamics worked but between what he had known of before and what she was explaining to him now, he could understand why she wouldn't want to return home. "Yeah. I can see how going back there presents several problems for you." he said.
tab This presented quite the pickle for the two. Returning to her workshop was clearly out of the question but he definitely wanted her to give herself a check up, given her new body. "Hmmmmm. What to do? What to do?" he thought aloud, stroking the bottom of his chin. Then suddenly it hit him. "Oh! I know! If we can't go back to your shop, why don't we just go back to mine?" he proposed with glee. "We may not have some of the specialized equipment you'd have, but between my iron working gear and my dad's carpentry tools, we've probably got at least enough to cover any basic needs you may have." he explained, continuing to beam from ear to ear. "So whaddya say? Wanna come over to my place?"
