tabMornings in Konoha were usually pretty quiet. The early morning mist would finally get settled after being created from the evaporating dew that hung from the leaves of the trees and the flowers. And as the sun would rise over the quiet, soon to be bustling Village, the light would filter in through the Dojo training grounds and shine through the droplets of the foliage, making the grounds glow like the night sky. No-one was active on the grounds as classes hadn't even begun to get started yet. Well, almost no-one. One person was using the training grounds, simultaneously ignoring and breaking the tranquil silence.
Minashiba Takatsuki let out a battle cry as she took a swing at one of her quarter of a dozen Shadow Clones. It ducked underneath the blow and lowered itself into a crouching position, bending its knees for a second before it sprang up! As it rose the clone swung a powerfist up into the original’s stomach! The impact landed with enough force to create a shockwave of wind that blasted behind Mina, as well as yank the breath from the young Genin. Mina was elevated into the air, pushed up by the blow by a few feet. She was doubled over in the air for only a second before another clone jumped up behind her and slammed her fists, interlocking at the fingers, into her back! The redhead hit the ground with enough force to dent the earth and create a cloud of dirt around her. As the earth settled after a moment Mina let out a groan but stood up slowly as a dull pain throbbed in her back. It still wasn’t enough. The Genin thought back to the strength displayed at the training tower. Masato had hit her clones far harder than they were hitting her now, and he hadn’t even been trying as hard. And then that girl…
Mina brushed herself off as she looked at the three clones that were spread out before her. She needed to catch up, and she wasn’t about to do that by sitting around daydreaming! Mina’s arm flexed as she clenched her fist and, with another yell, swung a punch straight down into the ground! The chakra infused blow had enough power within it to shake the ground in the immediate area! From the point of impact a fissure split the ground in front of the Genin and cracked along the ground, spreading as it neared the three clones! The three of them lost their footing as the chasm opened up wide enough to swallow all of them whole. But Mina wasn’t about to let that happen; she needed to hit them herself! So from her stance with her fist on the ground the girl bolted towards the three clones with as much speed as she could muster! She slid to a stop at the side of the closest clone and lashed out two punches into its side at a speed that was almost too fast to see! The clone disappeared into a cloud of smoke and before that smoke dissipated, Mina used all of the strength in her legs to leap forward! She crossed the distance of the chasm and closed the distance to the next clone. Using her momentum to spin her body, Mina swung her leg out and smashed it into the clone’s chest before she twisted and slammed the clone down into the ground, like she had been just moments before! The Genin hit the ground and slid into the dirt, her shoes creating trenches in front of her as she traveled backwards. The last clone was just regaining its footing, so she needed to make this last technique count! Mina’s fists crackled and glowed with red, electric chakra as she held them at her sides. With one last yell she thrust her fists forward and sent that chakra shooting through the air! It blasted into the clone, lighting up the training ground with a red flare for a few seconds. As the light died down Mina surveyed the damage she’d done as her breaths came up short and heavy as she tried desperately to fill her lungs with oxygen. A second later the Genin fell to the ground on her butt, taking a moment to rest.
Weight Training: 95/200 Techniques Learned: Base x6: Floating Smash, Swift Smash, Smashing Return, Rapid Smash, Fissure Smash, Soul Smash Location x3 (x6) : Soul Striking, Buster Smash, Void Smash, Spirit of the Warrior, Snare Toss, Shadow Sling, Retrieval, Bang Shot, Orbital Projectiles, Manipulating Line, Hidden Trap, Winding Scroll Release, Bent Arsenal, Meteor Shadow Clone Shot, Shuriken Hunter, Massive Multi Part Shuriken Cyclone Technique, Standard Grip, Off Balancing Taijutsu x6 x(6) : Single Shoulder Throw, High Grip, Fall Breaking, Reaping Leg Attack, Kiai!, Cross Choke, Standing Arm Lock, Inner Thigh Reap, Cross Lock Technique, Single Shoulder Drop Throw, Shoulder Carry, Rear Throw, Double Sleeve Grip, Combination Training, Minimum Effort; Maximum Efficiency, Gentle Counter, Penetrating Kick, Elbow Hook, Piercing Knee Strike, Rupturing Blow, Vice Grip, Overhand Strike, Fracture Smash, Morning Sun Strike, Strike and Smash, Cranial Havoc, Double Assault, Monster Toss, Zero Resistance Smash, Impervious Body, One Two Combination, Snapping Punch, Traditional Stance, High Kick, Smashing Heel, Swift Kick Raiton: Doton:
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Regenki
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Posted: Fri May 08, 2020 12:41 am
__ While on one of her many self-punishing laps around the village Kotori noticed a red flash of light. She went to investigate, if only just for the pure sake of curiosity. "kotori can do double- NO! She will do triple to make up for a break from her punishment!" She reassured herself and proceeded to find none other than her peer, Minashiba, from the earlier spar against their sensei. It looked like she was pretty worn out from training of her own. Or rather, she was probably just taking a break. "Ya! That's the way!" Kotori didn't even hesitate to shout a rowdy in the young kunoichi's direction. She jogged over to where Minashiba was resting and grinned. Kotori pointed to herself and said with a pearly grin, "Kotori too! She's training for losing to sensei too!" She pounded her left fist into her readied right palm. "Kotori won't lose again! Probably... haah." She sighed, reminding herself that defeating Masato was nothing like those that the fought during her pilgrimage in the last five years. She was so sure she was ready to really show him how strong she had become too. Tilting her head, Kotori looked upon Minashiba and asked, "Need any help?" A couple blinks followed shortly after the question.
tabMina jumped at the sudden exclamation. She turned to the source to see an energetic blur of yellow racing right over to her. Before she had even gotten over to the red head, Mina had known who it was. She knew energetic, but no-one else she knew was as energetic as the yellow blur. Kotori came to a sudden stop at Mina’s side, beaming those pearly whites at full blast. How this girl had so much energy this early in the morning was beyond Mina. It was very much like… her now that she thought about it. The young girl only didn’t realize it immediately because she was already tired from her training. But Kotori was going to fit right in with Mina and Ryu. The red head leaned back and rested on her hands while she gave the yellow girl a friendly smile. “Yeah, that’s about where I’m at too. He was so strong!” Mina thought back to the sparring session with Masato. About the giant nine tailed fox illusion, and about how scared she’d been during it all. The girl thought it’d been because she was weak, way weaker than she thought, and just being reminded of it made her clench her fist into the grass. “I didn’t perform very well during that training, so I decided to up my solo practice by four hours, so I’ve been sparring with clones since the sun rose. But so far I haven’t made much progress. I can only learn so much from myself, ya know?” Mina let out a sigh and flopped onto her back with her arms spread out to her sides. “What about you Kotori? How’re you doing?” Kotori was probably the strongest Genin Mina had ever seen. She was the one that got the closest to fighting Masato equally, anyway. Watching her fight had been eye opening for Mina. Maybe she could learn something. “How’d you get so strong, anyway? With all the fire and the fwoosh and the bam-” Mina made exaggerated hand motions to emphasize her point. “And you were all red back then.” The girl sat up and crossed her legs and gave Kotori an inquisitive look. “What was all that?”
__ Kotori nodded a few times while following along with what Minashiba was explaining. It was good to see her peer working so hard at her training. Kotori felt all the more eager to help hearing all that Minashiba had been doing since earlier today. She pumpped her fist into the air, "Yosh! Kotori can get back to running later!" Kotori lowered the same hand down to point at Mina and exclaimed, "Mina! Get ready to work extra extra super duper hard from now on. You're gonna become as strong as Kotori- maybe even stronger! Isn't that exciting!?" At last a thumbs up was offered with her eager vow to help with her kohai's practices.
She took in a deep breath then slowly exhaled to help concentrate on what she was going to do. Her expression was far more calm and focused than her usual feistiness. "Kotori was taught that she has to focus to become stronger. It's really important so you can control how the chakra moves in your body... or something like that." Kotori pointed at her forehead with her index finger. "Masato sensei taught Kotori the Hachimon, and Kotori is... pretty sure he'd be okay with others learning it too. Just be really careful! This stuff is really ouch-ish if you aren't careful. One wrong move and you could get yourself killed while using it!" Kotori didn't want to hide that danger any more than their sensei did. These were dangerous techniques who only the most daring and self-confident should learn all the way through. "You don't really have to hold back though. Kotori knows the Gentle Fist really good, so sealing up your tenketsu again will be a snap." Hopefully that was enough reassurance, but Kotori was pretty sure Mina wouldn't be doing all this if she could be scared away from it so easily. Right?
Keeping her finger at her forehead, Kotori proceeded to say, "The first two gates of Hachimon- the Gates of Opening then Healing are up here in our noggins. Kotori will show you the Gate of Opening again, real quick! KAI!" On cue, she focused her chakra into the Gate of Opening in her brain. No obvious changes could be seen in her form, but she'd explain, "Not as flashy as the rest, but I promise it's still really neat. Sensei said it lets us use all of our muscles' power. Honestly... I thought I already was, but once you use this it really shows! I don't really get why we can't all the time, but I guess it's just too hard for anyone." Kotori shrugged and doubled back. "So yeah! Right on your forehead. If you focus really hard on that point and successfully release the chakra point there you'll become at least this strong!" She figured results might vary a little, but she demonstrated a somewhat heavy stomp in place, causing the ground under her foot to buckle and scatter some dirt and dust away from them. "Kotori will tell you where the other gates are if you can at least do this much!" The lass smiled warmly and waited to see what Mina could do. She hoped it wasn't too confusing of vague. Kotori knew she wasn't the smartest person around, so she figured if she could figure it out then anyone could with enough practice and talent.
tabWhen Kotori would look back over at Mina, the spunky girl would see something not quite expected. Mina was laying on her stomach with her legs kicking freely behind her. The redhead was humming a tuneless tune as she bobbed her head from side to side, running her finger into the dirt to draw silly cartoon figures of herself and Kotori. It wasn’t that the Genin wasn’t listening to her training partner, it was just that Kotori’s words were going in one ear and out of the other. And that this dirt seemed perfect for drawing in all of a sudden. And there was this song stuck in Mina’s head.
And that she wasn’t listening.
Mina didn’t miss out on all of the explanations! It was there in the back of her mind...somewhere. Like a fly buzzing around in a different room; she was aware of it but didn’t give it much active thought. It wasn’t until Kotori slammed the foot on the ground and ruptured the earth did Mina’s attention come back to earth. With a yelp the girl was lifted a few inches off of the ground only to slam back ungracefully. “Owww…” Mina groaned as she sat up rubbing her side. “Speaking of ouch-ish…” she muttered with a wince. The Genin groaned a little as she stood, her body still sore from her little sparring session with her clones. “Okay, Opening and Healing.” Mina said with a light exhale as the girl closed her eyes. So was this that power she felt back at the tower, these Gates? Only one way to find out, she guessed. Mina calmed her mind and focused on the passage of chakra through her brain. It didn’t take too long if she just remembered how she felt during the training. A burst of chakra flowed through the right side of her brain and the Genin could feel the energy rushing through her body. First Gate, down. Mina moved her focus to the left side of her noggin. There was a greater burst of wind that exploded a few feet from her body, pushing a few of her bangs up out of her face. Second Gate, easy enough.
But what if she went further? Mina read about the tenketsu “gates” that kept ninja’s limitations in place. Maybe she could hit the next gate on her own now that she knew what she was dealing with! Mina shifted her focus down through her body and let it travel through to her spine. As it did the girl could feel the energy around her rising before the gate even opened! It made the Genin feel like she had to double over just to contain it! She started to growl in effort just from trying to maintain this level of chakra as the very ground around her started to rise up around the girl’s body. Mina’s pupils faded away to white and her skin changed to beet red as her blood started pumping faster than ever before before there was an explosion of chakra that made Mina’s hair stand up straight, her short ponytail unraveled!
This new transformation only lasted a few seconds however. The chakra dissipated and the redhead quickly returned back to normal. Mina’s hair fell back around her now loose hair falling around her face as her eyes rolled back. The girl’s eyelids shut as she collapsed, falling forward into Kotor’s arms.
Weight Training: 156/200 Techniques Learned: Second Gate of Healing
Null Rank | Simple Located in the brain, this forcibly increases the user's physical strength and temporarily re-energizes the body. Raises stamina and assists in recovery after being weakened. This does not heal major wounds such as stab wounds or slashes. It will however restore the user's muscles to their original condition and restore one quarter of the users total chakra and stamina used.(rounded up to the nearest whole number) Raises strength another 20%; Total physical strength is now three ranks higher. Speed and reaction times are unchanged.
By forcing the users chakra into the brain and overloading the seals the user can activate the second gate. While the effects of this gate itself are, again, not that strong in and of themselves. The effects do stack with the previous gate and the true might of the gates starts to be shown. Once the gate has been activated, the gates create a sort of awakening effect within the users chakra system forcing it to cultivate chakra at a much higher rate then normal. This results in the user's being granted one quarter, rounded down, of their maximum chakra and stamina as a refund. In addition to this, the user gains another 1 point increase to their strength speed and agility. This increase stacks with the previous gates' increases.
Third Gate of Life
Null Rank | Simple Located on the spinal cord, this allows the user to use the Reverse Lotus. The increased blood flow turns the skin red. Capable of deflecting C-rank ninjutsu with the same or less chakra.
By forcing the users chakra into the upper spine and overloading the seals the user can activate the Third gate. While the effects of this gate itself are, again, not that strong in and of themselves. The effects do stack with the previous gate. By manipulating the nerves which control heart rate and blood flow, the user will force excessive amounts of blood through the body. This results in the users skin taking on a red hue. In addition to this the hyper cultivation of chakra from the previous gate now results in a visible and thick spiraling aura of chakra around the user. This chakra can protect the user from incoming ninjutsu up to C-Rank. However, the cost of doing so is automatically deducted from the users chakra pool and consumes a single activation to unlock. Again as before the user gains another 1 point increase to their strength speed and agility. This increase stacks with the previous gates' increases. Once the user opens this gate they will immediately notice the backlash it has upon their body. This includes muscle stiffening, micro-tearing of muscles and tendons, and mild overheating. Base: Location: One Man Lotus, Reverse Lotus Taijutsu x6: Raiton: Doton:
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Regenki
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Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2020 11:06 pm
__ Kotori watched as Mina went through the steps of learning to use several of the Hachimon quite well. Of course, that would inevitably come with a cost, but that bridge was only just being arrived at. She leaned in and caught Mina as she lost consciousness for a moment. "Kotori is impressed! Well done! How about we go celebrate?!" She was practically ignoring the fact that Mina might need to rest a bit more, but the lack of immediate response more or less cleared things up. Not really. Kotori stared down at Mina for a bit while adjusting her for a little arm over the shoulder support. She'd have no trouble with how light Mina was, so she could hang off of Kotori for as long as needed. "Kotori always gets ice cream when she wants to celebrate." Her rather exhausted peer would be subjected to a jostling momentum as Kotori hastily carried Mina through the village to her favorite ice cream parlor. Perhaps that might've even kept her down for a bit longer given the circumstance.
However, Mina would probably have to wake up to the shop owner worriedly asking, "I-Is your friend having some too?" If she had been even a little conscious still, Mina might've heard Kotori just eagerly ask for her usual. What that entailed was probably an overly-sugary amalgamation of a frozen dairy treat. Kotori looked over to Mina who was still hung over her shoulder and hummed curiously. "Make that two! Kotori will eat both if Mina wants something else~!" The man just shook his head with an I shouldn't be surprised look on his face. There was no doubt that Kotori was also thankful to Masato for saving mister Tadakoro and his epic ice cream skills from that meteor too. What a woeful life to live without such wonderful treats! All the same, Kotori did wait to see if Mina came to now that they were in the middle of ordering. Others in line quietly waited for the rambunctious regular to eventually move along.
tabMina had a vague recollection of what happened in the minutes of travel. While she had only passed out for a few moments after entering the Third Gate, the drain on her body had still left her too exhausted to do much. Everything else happened as a blur, literally and figuratively. Her body was jostled as Kotori ran through Konoha, and Mina was absently aware of how strong the girl was. It shouldn’t be a surprise by now, but the Genin still sometimes forgot how much strength came in such a small package. The Hyuuga’s body was hard from so much training, but Mina still managed to feel comfortable being carried. The two didn’t know each other that well yet, but Mina was absently thinking about how Kotori’s physique was a perfect summary of her personality: strong and full of raw power, but dependable and sturdy. The girl let her weary arms interlock lightly around Kotori’s neck and rest her head on her friends' back, closing her eyes again as the two of them blasted through the village to celebrate. It felt nice.
When Mina regained consciousness, it was to the face of a man she’d never seen before. However, it didn’t take long to figure out where the two had gone. The building was cold, and cold enough that you could smell it. The sweet scent of cream and sugar tinged at the edges of the scent of cold in a very distinct way that made Mina perk up. “Are we getting ice cream?” She mumbled sleepy as a tired smile crept on her face, still not yet unlocking her arms from around the Hyuuga. She didn’t order after, as Kotori had ordered two, but Mina did slide off of her friend’s back and sit across from her at a table. “What a good idea,” she half-groaned as she stretched out, her joints cracking as she sat down. “Something cold should help the soreness~” Slowly Mina started to blast her signature beaming grin as she recovered. “But why’s it feel like I ran a marathon?” The girl asked, resting her cheek onto her fist with her elbow on the table. “Does this happen every time you use the Gates, Kotori?”
__ Kotori eased Mina into her seat then found hers across the way. "Ice cream after training is the BEST!" She agreed with Mina about this being a good idea; although, Kotori would have labeled it at least as a great idea in her own book. She had to think about how she felt after using the Hachimon for a moment, tapping her chin with her left index finger and staring up and off into a collage of memories. After a couple moments Kotori nodded and answered, "Yeah kinda! It doesn't hurt as bad, I guess? No... that's not right. Kotori just takes endures it, like with training! Pain is just another obstacle for the mind and body to overcome! At least, that's what Chief Latu said to me before." Shortly after imparting some wisdom she'd inherited from her adventures, another lady wearing a white uniform with a red apron approached their table with a pair of large glasses filled with several scoops of ice cream, candies, a couple sticks of dango, and topped with a mokuton-grown giant strawberry that had been neatly cut up to look like a huge rose. Whipped cream and chilled, candied strawberry drizzle filled the spaces in the glass up to halfway to maintain its cool temperatures longer. Each glass was set before one customer and the lady said, "Please enjoy! Let us know if you want seconds~!" The woman then bowed to excuse herself and return to her other duties around the parlor. Usually, seconds were a given for Kotori, but who was to say how long she'd spend here today? She had stopped her own training halfway through to help her peer, but there was always time for ice cream. Especially when you were celebrating a triumph! Mina deserved this, and Kotori was gonna enjoy providing the treat too. Win-win! "Oh yay!!!" Kotori picked up a really long spoon that had also been delivered along with a few napkins. She waved her spoon about the air, sorta waving at hte front counter where the man was waiting for his next customer, "Thanks again mister and missus Yuki! Kotori LOVES your iced cream!!" The man was a little surprised at the call out but certainly appreciated the bold compliment in front of his other guests. He tipped his hat to Kotori and the woman turned about to offer a grateful curtsy. "You're welcome anytime, Kotori." Kotori gave a short cheer and smiled to Mina. "Woo! Oh boy oh boy. Mina! You're in for a treat~! There's no going back after this, so brace yourself." She winked playfully while waggling her spoon up and down near her glass. "Itadakimasuuuuu!!!" Kotori dipped her spoon into the side of the big ol frozen desert, picked off a dango from one stick, and then set it into the spoon before it all ended up in her mouth. "Mmmmmnnmmnmmmnn!!" You could see Kotori become nearly pacified on her first bite. Although it wouldn't slow her voracious appetite for the desert, but one could be certain that she was far more harmless while eating than any other time.
tabMina blinked and looked at Kotori as she helped the red head into her seat. The Hyuuga was surprisingly gentle as the girl sat down, a far cry from her usual hustle and bustle. Mina cheeks went red, just a little, by virtue of how close the girl was to her. But she was grateful for the help and sat down in the chair gingerly and leaned back against the soft cushion on the seat. The girl’s eyes rolled back as she relaxed her weary body and felt the strain of mere existence fade away. “It sounds like it doesn’t get any better, Kotori, and that the only advice is to stop being such a wuss.” Mina replied with her eyes still closed, but with a small, wry smile on her face. The Genin mulled that one over for a second. If using just the first few Gates made her feel like she was hit by a building, Mina didn’t know if she even wanted to pursue the rest of them! Maybe she’d even die if she went forward! Mina felt a chill run down her spine that had nothing to do with the cold parlour she was in. Even if the idea of more pain didn’t sit well with Mina, there was no denying how much power it had. “It seems like the power jump from second to third is much wider than the first to the second…” she’d mumble under her breath, just thinking observations out loud. Even at the first Gate, Mina was still struggling against Masato, but Kotori seemed to even be pushing him back. “Almost like the power of one and two combined… which would be triple if I had to guess… which makes sense since it’s the third, duh Mina get with the program…” Mina didn’t really notice she was thinking aloud, and as such didn’t notice if she was loud enough for Kotori to hear or not. She was even tracing her finger against the table top. Was she doing math?!
It wasn’t until a deep wooden thud of the dishes hitting the table that Mina was brought out of her thoughts. Her jaw fell to the floor at the sight of the two ice cream cups, each one as big as her head! And it was filled to the brim with sweet treats that, admittedly, Mina had had separately but never once had she thought to combine them like this! The redhead was going to have to quintuple on her training, at least, just to work off the calories sitting in front of her. And Kotori offered to eat both of them! She remembered. Not like that should’ve been a surprise: The Hyuuga didn’t give Mina the impression she worried about healthy eating. Well no time like the present!“Itadakimaaaaasu~!” The girl chimed in with her friend at the same time, clapping her hands together quickly before taking a good spoonful, making sure to grab a touch of everything. The amalgamation hit her mouth and-
Oh, it was good.
Mina seemed to melt into her chair as the dessert explored her taste buds. The ice cream melted around the candy divinely, and the strawberries had their own coating of sugar for some nice texture. And the syrup and cream held it all together with an element of filling. “This is so good,” she breathed. Turning around in her chair she said to the waitress and the man, she added “Thank you so much, it’s great!” She beamed. Mina didn’t notice, but the couple seemed to just be relieved she was actually alive.
After about a minute of silently enjoying their snack, Mina finally rested her elbows on the table and looked at Kotori. “So how long’ve you know that homeless man-I mean, Masato-sensei?” She asked, grabbing the stick of dango. Mina held one of the small snacks to her hand and it responded by opening up at the palm. A tongue slithered out and wrapped around the snack before Mina pulled the dango from the stick. The mouth hand swallowed the dango whole and started chewing. “I literally only met him five minutes before you showed up! Dude seems intense.” Mina added with a nervous chuckle. “But! He did have some guy lick his feet, so that was weird!”
__ Kotori remembered feeling a lot like Mina did when she also first learned the basics of the Hachimon. The girl just smiled from across the way while waiting for their order. She watched Mina doodle invisible counts and possibly a graph or two on the tabletop, kicking her feet back and forth in unison. There was a soft swishing noise from each time she failed to pick them up high enough from the floor. By the time Mina turned back from the couple who owned the parlor, Kotori was just over a quarter of the way through her Super Duper Bird Sundae. "Isn't it?! It's Kotori's favorite!" She'd take several more bites then pick out the other dango from her dish and nibble on the first of the doughy, sugar and cinnamon covered treats on the stick. "Y'know, Mina-chan, do you think that maybe you're using your brain muscles more than your other ones?" She waved her dango back and forth like a pendulum in front of her face, following it with her eyes to each side and back. While she did this she added, "Sure, toughenin' up helps, but you gotta have a reason to try in the first place. Plus, it gets easier if ya don't get lazy! Sage Karra-san said the first part, Masato-sensei told me the other part." The dango was stopped perfectly vertically right in front of her face as she finished saying this. Mina was still working through her ice cream and that was fine. She just wanted to give her new friend a little nudge. If she wanted to do something else that was fine though. 'Not everything is for everyone. Kotori reminded herself of some of her father's wisdom too. Smart people were nice to share their smart ideas with her. It was really hard to understand most other things, after all.
Kotori decided to pace finishing her treat with Mina instead of keeping the lead. After all, she was already in here first thing this morning to get her morning jumpstart "usual" too. Kotori spooned for melted bits from the bottom of the glass, not wanting to waste even a drop of the artful piece she was allowed to gobble up. "Thank you for the food! Put it on daddy's tab please, Mister Yuki!" The man chuckled and gave the child an acknowledging wave. His wife, the waitress, would arrive at the table to take away their dishes, "Come again soon, Kotori and... Minashiba?" Mrs Yuki's voice trailed as she looked to her regular's date, trying to make sure she overheard Kotori correctly. Kotori gave Mrs Yuki an approving thumbs up and grin, "Don't forget the tip!" She giggled then looked back to Mina when asked about Masato. You could visibly see Kotori perk up when Masato's name was mentioned, but her reply was postponed as she honed in on the dango-eating hand mouth. "Whoa! How did Kotori not notice those before?! You can eat like that, Mina-chan? Does it taste any different? Is it sweeter! Kotori wishes that Kotori could try too..." Kotori held her palms up over the tabletop and stared at them, imagining having similar features while Mina mentioned how they all met and about the feet licking that she probably was too focused on the fight to notice. Still on the hand mouths, Kotori came to a deal-breaking realization, "Wait, do you have to brush their teeth too? Ugh... probably. Never mind, but that's still super neat!" She rhythmically, but softly tapped the end of her last dango treat against the tabletop then got back to the subject of Masato. "Kotori thinks it's technically been almost six years... but Kotori wasn't here for most of the time, so only a little bit of that counts as knowing Masato-sensei. Sensei is teaching Kotori to be as strong as he is! Did you know he smashed a bunch of meteors right out of the sky and saved thousands of lives?! He's so awesome! Kotori wants to be able to save people like that someday too!!" Her tapping became a bit more erratic toward the end until the stick simply snapped almost completely in half. Kotori raised it up to look at it for a moment and frowned. 'Kotori is just good at breaking things.' She thought to herself and set the dango stick down. She then looked back to Mina and asked, "Does Mina-chan have anyone she looks up to too?" There was an innocent plainness to her inquiry. Studying under Masato had taught Kotori a great many things and helped her finally find a goal to focus on in her life. She was still pretty green at it all, but lots of people were starting to acknowledge her strength. At the very least, that meant she was on the right track in her head.
tab“My… brain muscle?” Mina stopped tracing her finger on the table and blinked up at Kotori. The girl hummed quietly as she tried to look up at her head. “Do you mean you think I think too much?” She asked as locks of red hair fell around her face, thinking about that for a second. “I don’t think so? I mean, I don’t see why it hurts to think about things, know how things work. All that stuff.” Mina huffed her hair away but they only stayed for a second and ended up flopping into her mouth. “Trying to learn about the tools you have helps increase the things you can do with them.” Mina stopped eating long enough to tie her hair back into her ponytail while Kotori provided some good wisdom to the Genin. While Mina tried to listen and think about why she was trying to get stronger, the girl increased the pace of her ice cream eating. Just why was she getting stronger? To her it seemed simple; so she can make her mother proud of her. Taijutsu was MIna’s worst subject, yet she practiced day in and day out so it’d make her mom happy. Having her mom be mad at her…. Suddenly Mina’s blood went cold and she stopped thinking about it.
“Y’know Kotori,” Mina leaned forward and rested her elbows on the table to give Kotori a playfully exasperated smile. “I don’t think you’d ever give me a chance to get lazy if you’re gonna be around. Even if you did, you’d tell me to be lazy harder!” Joking around helped settle the sudden feeling of despair that had grown in Mina’s stomach. But also she was telling the truth. Kotori’s obvious devotion and love to doing what she did was infectious. It made Mina want to try even harder too, so that she’d one day be able to stand with her peer as an equal.
“Oh, yes ma’am. But everyone just calls me Mina.” The girl said, the woman’s voice snapping her from her daydream for a moment. When the Genin looked back at her date, she saw Kotori staring starry eyed at the red head’s hands. “Aren’t they awesome?!” Mina replied, getting just as excited as her friend. “Yeah! It’s weird actually, but they do taste things different. This one’s named Coconut and loves sweet foods,” she said, holding up her right hand, Then her left. “And this one’s Razz and really likes spicy stuff.” As she spoke she held her right hand over her ice cream and it started to chomp down on the frozen dessert, letting her catch up to Kotori’s progress while she spoke. “I didn’t think you needed to, but yeah. Grooming four sets of teeth can be tedious. But if I didn’t I would just be covered in morning breath.” Mina winced, her face crumpling in disgust at the thought and mimed fanning her nose.
“For real?? Did he just punch it out of the sky?!” The girl asked, swinging her fist up above her head for emphasis. As Mina ate and listened to Kotori’s tale, she noticed her friend snap the stick she was holding. Once she was done, however, Mina offered the stick she was holding to Kotori with a smile grin. It even had a strawberry Dango on it still.
“Yeah, actually! My Ma is suuuuper strong, and I learn a lot from here! And I really admire Lahil-, I mean Lord Hokage!” Mina beamed and went on her own tangent. “She also stopped a meteor from crushing a village! And I went on a mission with her and she shattered a pooooowerful Fuuin like POW. And then she was fighting with this giant bat thing and she was FLYING!” Mina was waving her hands around in a horrible attempt at visualization. She sighed when she stopped and relaxed, slumping forward and one of her hands absently landed on one of Kotori’s. “Her work on fuuinjutsu is astonishing, and she’s so strong too. I wanna be more like her when I get older.”
__ Kotori just giggled when Mina started thinking about if she thought to much. "Kinda, yeah?" She initially replied to the semi-rhetorical question posed by Mina then she nodded at the last part of that topic. "Kotori admits that somebody has to think about stuff sometimes. You're one of those smart people, Mina-chan." Kotori let the compliment fly with apparent intent but was certainly too focused on her frozen treat at the time to tell if she meant anything more than that. Her eyes wandered back up to Mina when her name was called again. A big goofy grin crossed her lips and she enthusiastically agreed, "Yea! If you wanna be the best at being lazy then I'll help you!" No, it didn't really make sense and Kotori probably missed the point that Minashiba was actually trying to get across; however, it made sense to Kotori when she said it.
A little later into their conversation they were talking about Mina's hand mouths. "Huehue! Good one Mina-chan!" Kotori chuckled at the morning breath joke. Afterward Kotori haplessly stared down at her palms having learned the names Coconut and Razz. "Kotori's hands should have names too..." She thought aloud, visibly pondering what names she might give her little fists for breaking and smashing. It dawned on her like a little muscle-headed epiphany. She thrust her hands out, palms toward Mina. She wiggled her fingers on her right, "Breaky, and..." She closed her left hand then reopened it, "Smashy!" Kotori smiled proudly of herself and set them down at the edge of the table again. 'I wonder if Mina-chan has mouths on her feet too? Nah..." For a moment, she almost activated her Byakugan to check anyway.
Kotori was a little surprised but mostly thankful for Minashiba's benevolence. She eagerly accepted the strawberry-flavored dango treat and replied, "Almost turned it all to dust with one hit!" Right after she took the whole doughy ball of deliciousness into her mouth and slowly chewed on it while Mina then started speaking of her own idols. The enthusiasm seemed to lean more toward the Hokage, but there was nothing wrong with that in Kotori's book. "Kotori would like to spar with your Ma someday. I bet that'd be fun too." She hummed with a lingering curiosity. "Oh! Kotori wonders if your Ma or Kotori's daddy would win against each other?" She immediately liked that idea too, but it probably wouldn't ever happen. Kotori learned more about their Hokage in this conversation than she had known most of her life. She knew that Lahlil took over after the last leader was assassinated right before the meteors were dropped on Awajishima. However, Kotori had always been so focused on her training since moving back to the Land of Fire that she never really thought of her beyond being the leader. "Lady Hokage is really strong too, no doubt! The kage is supposed to be the strongest in the village, right? Fighting a giant bat sounds super neat! Hahah!" Kotori's brief cheer retreated into a simple smile. "Kotori wants to be as strong as Masato-sensei. The stronger we are, the more we can do for ourselves and each other..." Shizura's imparted wisdom got its chance to surface this time, but the bitterness of her death came with it. Kotori bobbed the dango stick that had been donated like a conductor guiding a silent orchestra but way too erratic to mean much in a musical-sense.
Her eyes wandered to the ice cream parlor's window with all of Konoha around it. People were passing by doing whatever they had to do that day in their many unique lives. "Say... Mina-chan?" Her attention came back to her peer, "Do you..." She momentarily gave pause to apprehension, uncertain if she wanted to try opening this door again after having so much fun so far. "Would you be Kotori's friend? We could even be best friends... maybe?" She shrank back into her chair, if someone as small as her could even afford to do that. Her head hung slightly but she did her best not to break eye contact while waiting for an answer to this question. "Kotori just thought that... well, since we have stuff we both like that maybe we could train together and stuff..." Compared to the rest of their conversation, she seemed much more meek and reserved. Vulnerable would even be fair way to describe her. Normally, nobody ever spent this much time with her unless they had to for one reason or another. She didn't have any friends left from Saegahara academy, and her reputation even before she started getting stronger left a wanting in that regard. Kotori just barely still saw the broken dango stick from earlier, feeding into her mostly restrained anxiety.
tab“Now that you named them you gotta take care of them!” The girl joked, twirling a finger at the Hyuuga. “Is that a responsibility you want, young lady?” Mina giggled as a grin spread across her face while she watched Kotori name her hands. The redhead leaned forward and clasped her hands to Kotori’s and shook them once. “Nice to meet you Breaky and Smashy! I hope we can be good friends!” Mina took note that, even though her hands were rough and hard from years of intense training, just how small Kotori’s hands were compared to her own. She found it weird that her hands could wrap around the Hyuuga’s so easily, partly because her very personality seemed larger than life. It was hard to remember how small she was. Kotori definitely filled up whatever room she was in, and made it brighter for everyone in it, too. Time seemed to slow down as the Hyuuga looked so proud of the names she came up with, and Mina felt a small sense of warmth growing despite the cold air of the parlor.
It was then Mina realized her hands had been grasping for a moment too long and she slid them back to the table and went back to her ice cream. “My Ma’s pretty strong, I’m not gonna lie. She taught me pretty much everything I know! And we spar all the time, but I’m about ninety percent sure she’s been holding back each time. Taijutsu’s not my best subject because I have a hard time understanding things when people talk. But Ma really wants me to learn it for some reason, so she always takes the extra few steps to write it out for me. And she took me in from the street, so learning is the least I could do, I think.” Mina paused and took another bite while Kotori mentioned what strength can do for others. It made her think about why she was training so hard to be a ninja. Just what would she be able to do to help the place she wanted to defend? And to come from the silly ball of energy Kotori, of all people. Mina liked how the Hyuuga could go from silliness about naming her hands to imparting wisdom like that at the drop of a hat. It surprised Mina, but in a good way. There seemed to be a lot more to her than met the eye- no that wasn’t right. Mina figured Kotori was all surface level, but not in a way that was shallow. But in a way that the girl put all of herself out there to see, proudly, so that anyone else got the full package upfront. It was admirable.
The two continued eating in comfortable silence as Mina watched the condensation rise on the window. As a rule the redhead made a point of drawing a smiley face of herself in the window pane. She paused, then leaned again, this time knocking the broken dango stick off of the table on accident. She drew a second smiley next to the one of her: a cartoon Kotori. When Mina sat back down, it was to the tune of Kotori’s question. Now that's odd, she thought to herself. The girl suddenly seemed… timid. The girl’s size really came to light as Mina watched her shrink into her chair and she couldn’t help but feel bad. What had happened to her that made this subject be the one to make her nervous? With her own levels of hardheadedness and energy, it wasn't too hard for Mina to understand. But she didn't want to push the issue, either. Maybe there was more to Kotori than met the eye after all. Mina was quiet for a moment but looked at her peer with a serene smile on her own face. “That sounds great, Kotori.” This time Mina purposely reached out to grasp Kotori’s hand, to give her a reassuring squeeze. “I’ll always be your friend.”
__ Kotori nodded, agreeing to take care of her fists now that they had named. "Yes!" She didn't really get the joke and probably had a different idea of what that entailed, but she was happy that Mina acknowledged them all the same. Kotori wasn't sure if Mina was just trying to hold her fist or not, but she felt most comfortable simply holding each other's hands. She let go of Breaky and Smashy Kotori also released Razz and Coconut. Her chipper grin didn't so much as waver as she eagerly wiggled in her seat. Hearing about Mina's mother only made Kotori all the more interesting in the proposed challenge for the woman. There would probably be a chance for that eventually. Just as intriguing were window pane drawings Mina was making of herself and... Kotori? 'Kotori remembers her drawing in the dirt while training too.' As far as she knew, Kotori had never been a cartoon before so it was really neat to see twice in the same day.
Catching up to the conversation, Kotori was under a heavy weight of suppressed hope to make a lasting friend. Her melancholy melted after Mina would so kindly accept. "R-really?!" They held hands again and her smile was brighter than ever. Mina could visibly see Kotori go through the emotional motions from sad to joyous. "Kotori is so happy!" She came around the table in a hurry and just outright hugged Mina as she sat at the table still. Kotori looked over her shoulder to the owners of the ice cream parlor and shared the news just in case they weren't paying attention, "Mister, missus! Kotori has a best friend!!!" Her cheer drew the eyes of several other patrons to the establishment. Mr. Yuki turned away from the sink where he was washing glasses behind the counter and nodded with a smile. His wife had just finished delivering another order to a nearby table. She approached the girls and spoke, 'That's fantastic, Kotori. Would you like another treat to celebrate?" Kotori's strong but affectionate hug for Minashiba was loosened at the offer of more sweets. It was so tempting, but she wanted to go play or train to celebrate since they already celebrated Mina's triumph with the ice cream. She finally let Mina go to ponder an answer then replied, "Two seasalt pops to go please, Yuyo-san!" The woman chuckled and nodded, "Coming right up!" Her husband heard the order as it was placed and already had the ice pops ready for Yuyo to take to the eager customers. "Thank you!" Kotori piped and passed Mina hers. "Do you feel okay enough now to go?" If so, they'd depart the ice cream parlor until another time. The rest of the afternoon awaited their antics.
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