Class is Out [open, nk]

"Class is over today students. Be sure to have your homework back by Monday next week. I'll see you all later!" The teacher departed from the room, hurriedly collecting his jacket and papers. Kanae, who was sitting in the back corner seat, stood up after he left and picked up her books. Returning them to her locker, she stepped outside into the training courtyard of the academy. She crept along the edge of the courtyard, keeping her head down. She hoped no one would notice her, so that she could return to her room without having to talk to anyone. She could hear the laughter of the other children as they sparred and played in the courtyard, and was happy for them. At least they were able to enjoy the sunlight. 

As Kanae closed the distance toward the exit, she hesistated. Maybe... it would do her some good to join them? Would it hurt to try? They would probably just tease her over her eyes like they had always done. The only person who had told her that her eyes were pretty was her father. Well, she supposed that she would have to skip out of social training. She should just head home and go about her daily life like she always did. But.... she could stay here would a while. She stood there, head bent, eyes closed, lost in thought. It was so hard to decide...

[WC 237, come one come all]

Youka was walking the halls of the school mainly just being quite and watching the children file in and out of classrooms. He had never had this experience in his childhood and it was interesting to watch how society was teaching kids to behave and what they should do while in public. Most of the little ones were leaving their classrooms though and Youka took that as a sign that class was being dismissed and the children were being sent home to enjoy their families.

Making his way towards the exit of the school he saw a young girl standing at the exit almost as if she was contemplating stepping out into the cold climate of Yuki, to which he couldn't blame her it was indeed a cold are to live and he wouldn't do it if he didn't have to. "Good afternoon child, what are you doing here". Youka was standing only a meter behind the child and he was not in his armor this time, just his normal black pants and a mesh black shirt with his shield hanging on his back and his helmet in between his left arm. He never really traveled anywhere without it now as you never knew when something would happen, his red ponytail hung over his shoulder and he displayed his Cheshire smile as always.

Kanae gasped slightly as a voice came from behind her. How should she deal with this? She quietly turned around, and bowed to him slightly in greeting from the waist, as befitted a polite person. Still, Kanae kept her head down, and her eyes closed. Was it fear and trepidation that kept her from talking to the man? Her fear of social interaction went deeper than mere shyness. Well, it looked like she would have to talk to the man.

She started to speak, quietly, but loud enough so that only he could hear. "I w-was just about t-to go home... but was thinking about staying and training a little bit." She couldn't possibly reveal to him how afraid she was of the other children, or of wide, crowded spaces in general. Even though she had no pride or self-esteem left in her, she just thought that being a burden by pouring out her troubles on others would make them try to care for her necessarily.

How would the man respond to this? Hopefully he would just let her go her way... but deep inside her, there was a little voice, almost dead, that said "wait, maybe staying here with him will be good. Maybe he'll be like your father..."

[TWC 447]

Saios tilted his head slightly at the young girls shyness, it was indeed weird for him to see something so frail in the world and it reminded him of Kira when he first found her. A small sliver of actualy care came over him as he studied her and wacthed her bow to him slightly. At least she had manners even in this day and age manners would play a huge role in everything you did. He noticed she wasn't looking directly at him and he wondered why that was, but he was after all a complete stranger that was just meeting her for the first time so he could understand her worries.

"You don't have to head home right away if you don't want to or if you insist I can walk with you and ensure you rach your destination safely" Youka wanted to see why she was so withdrawn and maybe even see what these young ninja could do in these times, they would after all be his friends guardians in his absence and would protect the village should anything happen.

She really had been considering going home after talking to the man, but this completely reversed her decision. The fact that he had offered to follow (well, according to him, "accompany") her there... she didn't like it. Strange men stalking her home made her feel very, very nervous. Her experience with such people in the past had NEVER resulted in a safe environment. No, she couldn't go home, not with this man. 

She squeezed her eyes shut tighter, trying to block memories of her step-father from flooding her mind. "I.... I'm s-sorry, sir, but I guess I'll stay for a bit... I d-don't think I'm ready to go home yet after all." She put her hands on the sides of her head, clenching her skull. "P-please... I n-need to get stronger. I am probably the weakest among my classmates..." She didn't state why. She hadn't been training a lot because wherever she went, there were always other kids who would mock her, and occasionally attack her for fun. The world had many psychopaths, probably with pasts more broken than hers, but whose minds and spirits had broken differently. 

Whatever she did, she couldn't reveal her past to this man. She just needed to keep all the evil bottled up inside her, so that no one else had to share it.

[TWC 667]

Youka was even more curious as to see what this girl was all about. It seemed once he mentioned that he would take her home she immediately seemed to clam up and become less responsive to him. Something must have happened to her in her past that would make her clam up like htis. Youka wasn't one to pry but he just diagnosed that as the problem. "Well if you don't want to go home what would you like to do, I'm actually slightly bored and was just strolling seeing what this generation has to offer".

He also wanted to know about this girls past now as he thought that she seemed to think of herself as weak and he would try to do his best to help her get past that fake light.

He was bored? Hmm... so he was hanging around an academy full of children to see their potential. It seemed like an adequate excuse... but you never knew. Kanae slowly brought her hands down, and raised her head, opening her eyes. The man in front of her seemed much stronger than she was. The helmet he carried looked pretty impressive, and she wondered what it was for. The fact that he was interested in shinobi-to-be children meant that he was probably a veteran ninja himself, so the helmet must have at least some kind of protection and armor function, rather than merely an ornamental thing.

As for what she wanted to do here... "Um... I guess I'll go out there and train now. But there are so many people..." She thought of a solution. Maybe the man could come with her? This would give her an opportunity to not only get some training in, but also to assess the man. His personality, and what he wanted out of her. She looked up at the man timidly and made up her mind. "W-would you mind training with me today? You're probably very important, and have better things to do..." She would pose this query to him in the same quiet voice that she had before, wondering silently exactly how he would respond.

[TWC 888]

The girl had very deep eyes and at ties they didn't look as if she trusted her own power inside herself. It was always sad to see someone as if they had given up on themselves or they were to scared to grasp the power that they controlled. He had been that way once as he was in the convent and refused to know anything about the outside world besides the fact that it was evil. Luckily he had been kidnapped and forced to do certain things he didn't like but it made him the person he was today and he wouldn't have it any other way, the only thing he truly did miss was his "father" that had beeen slain.

Hmmm so she wanted to train, it showed at least that she had some promise and understood the need to get stronger and maybe he could also help her in that regard as well, after all he was a priest and helping was his middle name..or atleast that's what he would show. Of course Youka was asked to help this young child get stronger to which he would just tilt his head to the side and smile even more to before nodding his head yes. "I don't have anything more important than helping a young one as yourself find their way in this world". Youka would walk out of the school firt into the training area where some of the kids would move out of his way and provide a nice surrounding for him and the little girl to practice. He would turn and motion for her to come forward if she hadn't been following him. The area was about 15 meters wide with snow built up only about a meter thick with various children training as well around them with the exercise dummies in the background.

Youka would test this girls mettle and see where she stood in the face of adversary, if she proved strong and willing to get stronger he would consider storing one of his marks on her body for her to call on should she ever need a little more power.

Daiyuki had not particularly liked coming to the academy since his outbreak involving the instructor and academy students. The last thing he had remembered about this place was the wretched scent before he had pushed to enter the classroom and the rage he felt has he left it.
 
Walking around bearing his teeth as too intimidate the academy students around him, Daiyuki had found his sacred spot.
 
 
Daiyuki had now found himself sitting in a corner spot of the academy training courtyard one of which he had marked with his own urine in his days of attending the academy.The very evidence that the spot he had felt to be sacred was now being surrounded with foul odors that would become reminiscent to his mind in relation of the day of his outburst all the more made him emotionally distraught.
 

 

Kanae followed the man into the courtyard, into the wide open space. She stepped into the snow hesitantly, almost stiffly. As she looked around, she noticed some angry kid in the corner. Was he a more angry version of herself? He seemed a little to feral for that, but it was to early for conclusions. Ignoring the boy for now, she followed the man into the center of the courtyard. Steeling herself, she bowed again, this being a mere formality. "I am Kanae Iku, and I thank you for this." This would be her introduction, and marked the beginning of more than just this spar.

In one fluid movement, Kanae bent her knees and lunged forward from her spot two meters from the man, scooping up snow on her way there, tilting her left hand down and scooping up some of the frozen stuff. As soon as she got close enough, she moved her arm up as fast and as strong as she could, flinging the snow in the man's face to both distract and blind him. Immediately, Kanae moved to her left, bringing her right hand around in a fist to hammerfist the man's right side. If this attack succeeded, Kanae would not bother to follow up, as doing so would probably allow the man enough time to counterattack. This entire time, she would keep her eyes peeled for attacks.

If the attack failed, well, it depended on exactly what the man did. She hoped that he wouldn't hurt her too much...

[TWC 1141]