| Kariya Cisco walked through the doors of one of the few alcohol-serving places in Kumogakure, a small family-run diner hidden away in a dark alley. In contrast to the gritty alley outside, the diner itself was quite charming, glowing with the hospitality-vibe that only family businesses can provide. The day had not gone particularly well. His new invention, an effort towards finally getting his Genin headband, wasnt the success he had hoped. With almost no ninjutsu talent, and a chakra pool that would make most children point and laugh, he was pushing 30 and were still outclassed by children less then a third his age. His next chance was in a few days. The higher ups had agreed to re-evaluate him one more time, but this would be his last chance. Another failure would result in a ban from trying out any more, so he had been warned strictly. To calm his nerves, he had sought out this place for his first taste of sake in years. A cliche he felt almost obligated to fulfill despite its outdatedness. He sat down and ordered a cup, asking the old man behind the counter to leave him the bottle. The old man looked at him for a second, and for a moment Cisco couldve sworn he saw pity in his eyes, before he handed him the bottle. It was no surprise, he had become quite well known in the village by now. How couldnt he? When you as 27 years old start showing up to class with 8-10 year olds, someone is bound to take notice and start talking. He didnt care for what they said though, they could talk all they want. He sat down at a table close to the door, in a darkened corner of the room. Listening to the sounds of the faraway streets was sort of calming, as he poured himself a cup and took a sip with a relieved sigh. In a few days he would give it his all, but for now he would try to relax as much as possible. |
PsynergiApr 12, 2016 7:18 AM
| "Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known" -Carl Edward Sagan |
| “Seems somebody has had a bad day,” Lucas said with a hint of a smile. Lucas was oblivious to who the man was. He had been sleeping, having hid from his instructor most of the day, and had only woken up due to the sudden drop in temperature from the opened door. With his headband sliding down his face, he pushed it back up with his right hand. Having recently turned 18, Lucas had become a regular of the small diner. |
| Cisco looked up at the boy in the doorway. He was starting to wonder if his misery was contagious enough for someone like him to sense it just upon entering the room. He brushed it off as simply good instincts on the boys behalf, and not some "negativity aura" emenating from Cisco. "I wasnt aware i made it that obvious. My apologies." He said, and raised his glass politely in a greeting gesture. "Some roads are harder than others" He chose to speak loosely, not wanting to jinx himself before the big day. He still had some time for training, and while not being particularly superstitous he did not underrestimate the psychological effects of "goals" and "hurdles" on the mind. As such, he chose only to speak of his goals, not his hurdles, unless asked. "I take it you, along with the rest of the village, know whats going down in a few days?" |
PsynergiApr 12, 2016 7:00 AM
| "Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known" -Carl Edward Sagan |
| Lucas shook his head. He had heard the rumours about the old man and his repeated failures, it was said that he was the oldest student in all of the lands, and yet still he hadn’t given up on his dream. Cisco was infamous throughout the village for all the wrong reasons. “It was the bottle. Who drinks a full bottle all alone in a quiet place like this?” He said, as he waved over towards the old man that had previously served Cisco. With the man having acknowledged him, Lucas turned his attention back to Cisco as he took a seat closer to the table, his fingers lightly tapping against the small wooden table. He was not one for engaging much with others, and when he did it was usually to flirt with an attractive girl, and yet here he was about to talk to the worst of all the men in the village. “If you mean the village about to end your dreams, then yes, I do,” he said. “What I don’t quite understand is how you can fail so many times, and still not learn how to pass. I have seen and heard about people pass without being able to cast a Jutsu.” |
| "Special rules for Ronin/Repeat-students" he replied with a solemn look, fiddling the cup before taking another sip. "If you manage to fail that test, which as you say some people can pass without having any talent in ninjutsu, they penalize you. You are banned from trying again for a whole year, and when you eventually do try, Substitution Technique has been added as a requirement. And they said without ninjutsu my taijutsu wasnt enough for a passing grade.." The look on his face betrayed that this was the key to his repeat failures. A notion he confirmed when he spoke again. "I just couldnt do it. No matter how much chakra i molded, it never seemed enough. The substitution always fails in the execution stage.." In great contrast to his former gloom, a slight smile grew into existance across his face. Like he was trying to hide his excitement. "That is, almost always~" Feeling a bit like he was blabbering, a took another sip of his cup to simulate a sort of "pause". He knew from experience that people often tuned out if you ranted on long enough. "Ive gotten it down to roughly 18% success rate, its the best i can do. I can only hope that im on my A-game come test-day, and leave the rest to lady luck. Its better odds than ive ever had, so im taking the chance" As he finished his story, he realized he never asked this persons name. "Whats your name lad?" |
| "Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known" -Carl Edward Sagan |
| The door to the diner slowly opened and a hooded figure walked through the door. The hooded figure glanced around nervously the quickly retreated the the corner of the bar and then stared down at the bar. Bartender: "hey what can i get?" Selene:" whispering that can not be heard" Bartender: "What did you say i cant hear you so speak up" Selene: "waattterrr please" could be heard in a nervous feminine voice Bartender: "Sure thing" The bartender brings over a glass of water then the hooded figure looks around nervously while sipping from the glass While selene is sipping her water the top of her hood keeps twitching at the sound of the two men talking. Then having just realized that one of them is one of her classmates at the academy and taking the test tomorrow as well. She turns her head and seems to focus on the man with only her bright violet eyes shining out from under her hood with a look of pity in them and yet an overwhelming amount of respect in them. |
 |
| “My name is Lucas,” he said while taking a seat at the man’s table. “So you can mold chakra but you either don’t have enough, or you can’t get a feeling for the correct balance? And you are willing to risk it all on a gamble.” The young Lucas sat back in his chair, laughing at what he had just heard. It was rude, he knew it was rude and hurtful, but he couldn’t help but laugh at the man in front of him. He had never met anybody like him before. It wasn’t his age but his nature, the will to risk it all. That was rare. “Risking everything on such a small percentage is asking for trouble, right? Why not alter the odds so they are in your favor and take the test on your terms? If somebody is good at Taijutsu then if they are smart they will use it to pass the exam,” he stopped speaking long enough to take a swallow of his drink, the liquid licking the surface of the glass as he placed it back down. “So, what are you good at, old man?” He asked, eyes burning and focused on the man with curiosity. |
| "Traps" he said smiling. "And a little something i cooked up in spare time". After speaking he threw one of legs one the table with a deep heavy thud, and revealed a small set of bronze nozzles attached to his ancles. There were thick bronze tubing running up the side of his leg, dissappearing inside his pants somewhere. "I dont have a name for it yet, but it can do some pretty interesting things if i may say so myself." He said, taking his leg off the table as the barkeep was giving him a sour look. "But ive already played to those strengths as well as i can, the physical and written tests are all passed. Its just the substitution-test left. Dont worry, i got it, its gonna work for sure this time" He then noticed another person in the room staring at him. He tried to politely ignore the hooded figure for now, not knowing what exactly to do, and just sat there waiting for Lucas to answer. |
| "Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known" -Carl Edward Sagan |
| “So, why not just cheat on this part of the test?” Lucas asked with a serious look on his face. “Now I don’t mean cheat, but more like prepare before the test.” Lucas had taken in about as much as he could when he saw the features on the man’s leg, which wasn’t as much as others may have been capable of. Such devices weren’t really his forte to be honest, but he had an idea or a few guesses as to what it may have been able to do. Strength and speed were probably enhanced due to it, probably. “So you invent things. Then how come you haven’t looked into inventing something to aid you in using certain Jutsu? Something were you prepare the Jutsu beforehand, or have somebody do that for you, and during the fight you can activate it almost instantly without the use of annoying seals or the fear that it won’t work because of your chakra?” Lucas did his best to ignore the hooded figure, they were usually trouble. He was also more focused on the man in front of him, it would have been impolite to just dismiss him so easily, and also if a fight broke out, then it would be hard on the owner of the small diner. “There is no cheating in the Shinobi world,” he said in a callous tone. “I am interested in hearing what you have planned for this test though.” |
| "Well.." he said pondering. "I did have success when i tied a string to whatever i was substituting, or if i was touching it. But the test doesnt allow you to move from your spot, tying a string isnt on the table" He shifted abit where he sat, and the clank of his steam-tank rubbing against the wooden bench made him think of something. He pulled back the sleeves on his arm and looked at it for a second, before looking back to Lucas. "My boy, you have given me a grand idea!" He said excited, and stood up leaning over the table. "Have you heard of the "Flowing Steel" of the sand? They say its as light as tin, but stronger than iron. If i had my hands on that.." He said, letting his voice trail off as he drifted into thought for a moment. "Will you help me? The Raikage cant know we are leaving, and the Hokage of Konoha must'nt know we are passing through, the Sand guards it as a village secret. If anyone knew we were sneaking in, they would go to great lengths to stop us." He asked Lucas, with a fire in his eyes that made him seem almost as young as the rest of the village Genin. |
PsynergiJun 5, 2016 6:47 AM
| "Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known" -Carl Edward Sagan |
| The string idea wasn’t along the same lines of what he was thinking, but it was also an idea that he had never even thought of until now. The way people thought so differently, it was always interesting to Lucas. Watching the man fumble about as his mind ticked over, Lucas became quiet. The figure in the cloak was still around, not that the person seemed to wish them any harm, but one could never be too careful around strangers. That and he happened to be curious about them too, like a young child, he couldn’t keep his curiosity in check. “I am glad to have given you an idea, not that I know what it is,” he laughed shifting back into his seat as Cisco leaned ever so closer. He was clearly excited and so Lucas allowed him to run with his train of thought, he would learn more that way as well, “This is the first I have heard of such a thing,” he paused momentarily, thinking of the risks. “I can imagine the risks that are involved with doing such a thing...” he trailed off into his thoughts, conflicted on which path to take for a brief moment. “I have to admit, seeing how you pass the test sounds rather fun, and traveling will help me grow a lot faster. You can count me in Cisco but before we go, we should order some drinks!” he said ordering a round of drinks for the few people in the small diner. |
| He was a bit puzzled at the suggestion, but descided not to object to the drinks. That was the original reason he came into that place after all. "Sure, doesnt hurt to be well hydrated~" he said with a smirk. |
| "Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known" -Carl Edward Sagan |
| Lucas placed the empty glass back down on the table having enjoyed gulping down the liquor, his eyes shifting back over towards Cisco. There was little to no point in hanging around much longer, he had had his drink, and had prepared himself for the journey ahead. Well, mentally anyway. “This is your journey, so lead the way,” he said with a hint of enthusiasm. He was actually looking forward to seeing new things, learning new things, and well just the journey overall. The village had grown stale lately and he saw this little escapade of theirs as a way to brighten up his current dull, boring daily routine. Hopefully it would also help catapult his own progress that had recently stagnated. The Phantom style, his own style derived from something as simple as a step, but he hadn’t been able to build on it recently, unfortunately. |
| Selene looks at the drink that has been placed in front of her then slow picks it up and takes a sniff of it. she then takes a small sip of the drink which cause her to sneeze really hard and makes her hood fall down revealing the white fox ears on her head twitching around, She scrambles to try and pull her hood back on but keeps failing miserably in her panicked state and with a yelp she says. "i wasn't spying honest" then all of a sudden her eyes glaze over a little and her ears droop and she seems to cower down as if waiting for a blow to be on her while mumbling only loud enough to barely hear her. "dont hit me again i was just wanted to try and help" |
viper911Jun 18, 2016 11:27 AM
|
| Cisco blinked twice in a puzzled fashion at the girls outburst. The surprise caused him to have a delayed realization, as his eyes turned to Lucas and turned semi-serious. "Do you think she heard?" he asked in a low voice. His face told the story of a man wondering if he just crapped on the carpet. |
| "Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known" -Carl Edward Sagan |
| I wasn’t spying, honest Lucas had never liked spies. He had been born a Nightshade, at the lands on the southern borders of the country, on the small trident like lake from the main ocean. The small settlement built there was surrounded by beautiful forests, bright and airy, where tall braches dropped down over the shelters tickling them in the shadows. The animals would often come to meet then residents inside their homes, and the soft songs of the birds would drift across the forests under the morning sun. Everything was perfect, supposedly. It wasn’t, it was a lie fabricated by the elders of the clan. They had spies littered throughout the clan, searching for the seed. “I assume so, that is what spies do. They listen, they lie, they distort the truth, and then they cause unfathomable death and suffering,” Lucas said with a hint of a scowl on his face. The eyes of Lucas had lost their soft, cheerfulness, and instead had the cold, steely eyes of a Shinobi. He no longer wore the face of an innocent boy but that of a mask, the face of a Shinobi, with his glare being sharper than that of his katana under his cloak, by his side. The long black Katana could easily be used to cut a person in half. The narrow width was unusual even for a Katana. Forged by his clan, he had since named it “Mika” and it wasn’t hard to assume that he was about to test the sharpness of his blade on the neck of this unknown girl, this unknown spy. “That is enough, Lucas!” the sharp tone came from across the other side of the room, the door being swung open. Through the door came a young, vibrant girl, with blonde hair trailing behind her as she strode across the floor with pride. “There will be no fighting in my father’s place, unless you want to deal with me, or should I say deal with Scarlett, who I just happen to know is looking for you, again,” she said with an aplomb. The shroud of blood-lust that had clung to Lucas momentarily had dissipated as the girl approached him. Standing before him, she was a few inches shorter than him, with her head reaching his chin. She had a slim, modest figure that was still budding from her young age; she was only 15 after all. More importantly, she had been able to cast away the darkness that was bubbling under the surface of Lucas. “I was just having some fun, calm down,” he said in a defeated tone. “If she had heard, then what do you want to do, Cisco?” He asked in his usual cheerful tone. |
| Cisco was a bit surprised at the scene unfolding before him. He did take notice that this person knew Lucas's name from before, and the tone between wasnt directly hostile. His question however snapped him out of his train of thought, for which he was actually grateful. "Lets leave right away, i just have to stop by my workshop real quick. Ill meet you by the western gate when i'm ready." He said, and got up from his seat. "Oh and Lucas, thank you. I'll owe you for this" he turned and said just before vanishing out the door. |
| "Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known" -Carl Edward Sagan |
| For an old guy, he was still fast. The doors had swung closed before Lucas could even reply, the small gust of wind blowing past his hair. He to would said off soon, not wanting to be late or left behind. "off on an adventure? Does she know? What about-" she paused, cut off by the hand of Lucas that rested against her head. "it is just to help a friend, nothing bad will happen, I promise Jessica," he said with a hint of gentleness as his hand moved back down to his side. Leaving the restaurant, he closed the door behind him, mingling in the crowd as he headed towards the meeting point. He travelled light so didn't need long to prepare, instead he could sit in the shade and contemplate on the direction he was heading towards. |
| Appearently whatever Cisco had done at his workshop was pretty quick to set up, for he was already at the gates. He had grabbed a thick trenchcoat which he now wore, hiding most of his ninja gear. He had however swapped to a rather strange pair of boots, glinting in the sun from the bronze they were made of. The soles were covered in some animals fur, muffling the sound of his steps. He had a hat this time, a rather tired-looking fedora with a large brim, completing the look. If the steelsmith refuses to share his secrets.. Do i take it from him by force? How would i even go about such a thing.. to make a man speak what he wills not, do i have that in me? If only i had something to offer him in return, we can get in and out without any debacle.. I'll cross that bridge when we get there. Atleast Lucas seems like a good kid. Makes me feel bad for having to rely on him, if something happens.. Atleast if we succeed, i might finally be able to become Genin, and with the stable work that comes with it i would be able to repay him some day.. His thoughts came to an end as he noticed Lucas in the distance. He grabbed his hat and waved it above his head so Lucas could tell it was him. "Oi!" |
| "Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known" -Carl Edward Sagan |
| Lucas peered off into the distance, his right hand shielding his eyes from the sun as he heard his new friend. His appearance had changed, more like a shinobi now that most of his body was hidden, along with whatever else he had tucked away under his clothing. Lucas assumed that Cisco had some tricks tucked away, he wasn't good at jutsu according to himself, and so must have adapted over the years in other areas. A man of mystery, that was Cisco, "you arrived rather quickly" that was what Lucas thought as he responded and waved back to Cisco. Then again, he to was a man of mystery. |
| "Ah, yes well, suffice to say i have been planning for this trip for a while. I werent sure if i'd actually ever leave, but atleast i endeavored to prepare everything should the day arrive. And here we are!" He said with a smile. He nodded at the guard stationed near the gate, and the guard took note of who came along for this trip. A guards duties werent extragavant in times of peace, mostly reduced to keeping track of who comes and goes, but atleast he was dilligent in his work as he marked both Cisco and Lucas as "Absent" in his books. He nodded back to Cisco, letting him know it was alright to cross the gate now. Luckily for Cisco, most of the guards were clueless about exam regulations, happily allowing a Ronin to go about his business as if he was an actual ninja. This worked in their favor, and as long as they could keep the nature of their trip secret, it would continue to do so. "Thanks again for coming along on this trip with me. In a way, since im not actually a Genin yet, this is sorta like an escort mission for you. I can handle myself in a fistfight, but if the jutsus start flying, i'm leaving the rest to you alright?" |
| "Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known" -Carl Edward Sagan |
More topics from this board
Sticky: » Character InformationPsynergi - Aug 4, 2014 |
40 |
by wolfman2299
»»
Aug 11, 2020 1:42 PM |
|
» Rumble at the Border - The Flowing Steel of the Sand, part 3Psynergi - Nov 17, 2016 |
36 |
by Shadow543
»»
Jun 20, 2017 2:33 AM |
|
» The Twin Demonsbaxter09 - Jan 28, 2017 |
20 |
by MikuIzumi
»»
Feb 22, 2017 11:14 AM |
|
» The road through Konoha - The Flowing Steel of the Sand, Part 2Psynergi - Jul 30, 2016 |
25 |
by Psynergi
»»
Nov 17, 2016 12:33 AM |
|
Sticky: » Chakra PointsPsynergi - Aug 5, 2014 |
31 |
by Shadow543
»»
Nov 13, 2016 5:58 AM |