Weltschmerz (P, solo)

The morning was overcast with dreary clouds and heavy rain. Amaterasu Meijin was sat on the edge of Toshizou's bed at the inn, head rested on the palms of her pale hands. She watched with dulled interest as droplets of water pattered against the foggy glass. Her traveling partner was busy today with some mission or contract, and she didn't particularly have anything interesting to do, so she elected to stay inside. Her fire affinity burned underneath her skin, and soon enough steam began to build up on the window in front of her. The twelve year old lifted a dainty hand. Her index finger extended, she began to trace little shapes into the glass. There was nothing concise or immediately recognizable, but if one were to look closely enough, the outstretched petals of a chrysanthemum was apparent. She sighed deeply, scratching her head. If she stayed here much longer, she'd go stir crazy. The young sociopath tilted her head lightly, feeling the cool air outside seep through the pane. After a moment, she came to a decision. Maybe she should head down to the tavern? There were likely going to be a few people there due to the bad weather, but the gossip there was usually accurate. Perhaps she could find a fun mission to complete, or maybe pick a few pockets while she was there. With her mind made up, she slowly shrugged the thick blanket off her shoulders and stood up. She was dressed in a red tee shirt, black sweatpants, and a pair of dark ninja sandals. After a moment's hesitation, she grabbed Toshizou's jacket, a whitish gray thing that was slung over a chair. She flung it over her shoulders, careful not to tear the seams, and shuffled her arms. The sleeves hung below her hands, and the bottom of the coat went down to nearly her knees. She'd give it back later, though. Probably. It was very comfortable, and was sure to keep out the cold and wet.

She closed the door of her travelling partner's room behind her and began to walk left, to a flight of stairs. She passed her own locked room as she did so before descending to the ground floor. She nodded towards the receptionist and placed her hand on the doorknob, twisting it and pushing outwards. A wave of cold hit her exposed skin. A small frown graced her lips. She didn't know if it was because she was a fire affinity Meijin or what, but cold and damp environments always irritated her. Amaterasu tugged the jacket tighter against her skin. After a moment, she began to make her way down the street, puddles splashing beneath her feet and stray droplets of moisture finding their way between her toes. The smell of petrichor was prevalent across the area. The young girl passed various shops and closed stalls. She had a few more minutes before she arrived at her destination. The streets were eerily empty, and she found herself growing increasingly suspicious. Was there something going on...? Or was nobody awake yet? She did tend to get up at ridiculous times- at the asscrack of dawn, as Toshizou phrased it, but it was around an hour or two before noon. There had to have been at least one or two people out and about. Another thing that bothered her was the fact that she was in the dark. She prided herself on her ability to gather information, and if something big happened and she didn't know about it... Not only was it dangerous to her person, but it hurt her pride as well. She let out a deep sigh, a cloud of steam escaping her lips as she did so. One way or another, she'd find out what was going on in the small border town. With a newfound determination, the young sociopath power walked her way down the cracked pavement towards the center of the village- an old tavern. The lights were on inside, and she heard some sort of commotion from all the way out here. Was there something going on...?

She pushed open the creaky, wooden door, and her eyes took in a very excited(?) crowd huddling around a table of some sort. There WAS something going on, damn. She pushed her way past a few of the people surrounding her destination, and once wind was caught that everyone's favorite village sociopath was in the area, suddenly the crowd couldn't part fast enough. She found herself in front of a small piece of paper, and from what she could tell from the crazed rumors circling around... A crime boss had moved into the area. And he was demanding tribute from the town. Normally, that wouldn't be a problem, but... He'd likely not care that she and Toshizou were foreigners. He'd probably find a way to harass the two for ryo, and that wasn't acceptable. She needed to take care of him, preferably sooner rather than later. The young Meijin formed a checklist in her head. 1. Identify his location. 2. Identify his defenses. 3. Infiltrate his location and assassinate him. Well, in practice, it would be infinitely more complex, but... She had confidence in herself. Since the crime boss was new to the area, he wouldn't have heard of her, and due to her childish appearance he was much, much less likely to take her seriously as a threat. Amaterasu nodded to herself. She tugged the coat tighter across her shoulders and narrowed her eyes. It'd take a few days, but she could resolve this threat fairly easily. She turned her back on the crowd and left the room, intent on finding the inn where she and Toshizou were staying. She needed to drop off her travelling partner's distinctive coat, and besides, she'd need to leave him a message of some sort detailing what exactly was going on. He'd need to be on his guard, and in the event that she failed... Well, at least he'd know where to find the body.

~~~~~

She sat down in a ragged armchair, once again in Toshizou's room. She had returned the jacket to its rightful place, but the girl wasn't focused on it at all. She was deep in contemplation. The bandit lord was dangerous, but... The more she thought about it, the less she knew. It would be easier, and likely a lot less dangerous to stick to her own guns and not get involved. People like that often had lots of connections- something which she, for one, did not possess. In addition to lots of goons and henchmen, who knew what he had set up? No, she and her travelling partner would be all but ghosts to that man's eye. Deciding to go all in was irrational, illogical, and dangerous. She let out a sigh and crumpled the paper in her hands. On it was a note she had planned to write to her older brother figure, but... Well, she wouldn't need to if she planned to stay out of the stranger's way. Her palms began to smoke, and eventually the paper disintegrated into a fine, powdery ash. It fell from her hands onto the floor, and without a second thought she swept it under a dresser. The person who came to clean this room later could take care of it, should they find it at all. She sighed to herself and leaned back, pulling a tie out of her hair and feeling the dark strands pool around her shoulders. Amaterasu had grown arrogant, and she needed to stick to her own training before even attempting something as foolish as that ever again. A yawn escaped her lips. She hadn't slept well the previous night, and it showed. She slowly stood up, cracking her back as she did so, before making her way to the older man's bed and flopping down onto the mattress. It creaked awkwardly, but she did her best not to pay attention to it. A yawn escaped her lips, and she found herself forming a cocoon out of various blankets and sheets. Her body temperature adjusted the surrounding fabrics to be warmer, and her eyes closed. A deep breath in. A heavy exhale. She supposed she had earned the right to take care of herself- surely one day of training missed wasn't TOO dangerous. The twelve year old yawned and shuffled her shoulders. She'd worry about it later. For now, she just wanted to catch up on her missing sleep.

WC: 1,417
Total WC: 1,417

When she awoke, the young sociopath was distinctly aware of two things- firstly, Toshizou still hadn't returned from his contract, and second, she had overslept. Sleep was crusted at the corners of her acid yellow eyes, and bright streams of sunlight filtered in from the opaque window. A cocoon of blankets and sheets surrounded her firmly, barely enabling any form of movement at all. After a couple minutes of blinking dreams away, she began the journey of wriggling her way out of them. A few more moments passed before she was sitting mostly upright on the uncomfortable mattress. A yawn escaped her lips. She could already tell that the morning would be slow... Amaterasu pulled herself out of her travelling partner's bed. She was donned in black sweat pants and a red tank top. Judging by the fog on the glass, it was probably much colder outside than it was inside the inn. Without a second's thought. she grabbed her older brother figure's coat off the back of the chair and pulled it over his shoulders. The fabric was loose on her pale skin, but her body's natural heat clung to the fabric instantly. It retained warm temperatures very well, making it really good to wear in colder climates and weather. She was sure Toshizou woudn't mind. She often took his food, money, socks, blankets, pillows, and occasionally sleeping bags. A coat wasn't that bad in the grand scheme of things. A small smirk adorned her lips as she pulled a familiar pair of gray ninja sandals over her feet.

She wasn't entirely sure what she was going to do today, but she figured a day out on the town wasn't amiss. Besides, she had just learnt her first jutsu- Blast Wave- so if worse came to worse, she could literally explode at will. She couldn't wait to show that to her travelling partner later on... It'd be hilarious as a party trick. She could practically imagine it now. "Hey, Toshi, pull my finger." a snicker left her mouth as she made her way to the room door, opening it and closing it behind her. The key to the room was tucked into one of the inside pockets on the older man's coat, and it likely wasn't going to move from there. She made her way to the left, passing many other closed rooms on her way to the stairs. Her own room was there as well, but she only really used it as storage for her clothes and various weapons that she didn't want to carry around. She normally kept a couple of kunai on her at all times, as well as a smoke bomb, but she never really had the chance to use them. None the less, the walking bomb was sure she'd have a chance eventually. Another yawn escaped her lips, and she stretched hugely, arms fully extended to the sides. She passed the receptionist, meeting her eyes for a moment before the older woman looked away.

Once she was actually outside, however, the twelve year old didn't really have any idea on what to do. She hummed to herself, small hands tucked inside the massive pockets of the stolen jacket. Maybe she'd head over to the shopping district? Acid yellow eyes narrowed in contemplation. She did see the benefits and and downsides of going in public like this, but... oh, what the hell. She was probably one of the most dangerous people in the small black market town at the moment. And it wasn't like she wanted to buy anything inappropriately violent. She specifically wanted some books to read, and maybe some interesting trinkets here or there. And if anyone didn't want here there... Well, they could suck a lemon. She was a paying customer, and if they didn't want her there, she'd just take the goods anyway while they were asleep or something. Her feet made gentle clicks as she walked her way down the cracked pavement. It had been laid down years ago and weathered relentlessly for years, and with the way the economy was looking it was unlikely anyone would replace them anytime soon. Besides, most town residents were likely more worried about the high crime rates, or about the threat of hostile crime lords who may or may not be interested in moving into the area. While not that interesting in and of itself, the area was at a crossroads, so if one controlled it they'd also have control of one of the routes merchants liked to cross often.

She hummed to herself. It might be interesting to come back and exert her power here later, but... right now, she needed to bide her time and consolidate her power. She needed more time to develop her fire element properly, because right now she was a (literal) hot mess. She may have had proficiency in a B rank technique, but other than that? She had nothing. A yawn escaped her lips as she approached the familiar merchant stalls up ahead. A few of them narrowed their eyes at her approach, and some seemed to flinch as her gaze flitted over them. Ah, so her reputation preceded her. She didn't particularly care what they thought of her, of course, but the negative connotations that came with a bad reputation could be more trouble than it was worth. Maybe if she bought a few expensive items and put on her best behavior for a bit, it'd improve...? If people were on guard around her, that meant that they'd be a lot more likely to watch her every move, and that was something she couldn't afford. She sighed subtly, a deep exhale exiting her nostrils. Honestly, merchants and other artisans were so annoying. They held their customers to absurdly high standards of conduct (at least in her opinion) before engaging in their own shady behavior behind closed doors. She didn't particularly care, but the double standards were irritating. She hummed to herself as she examined a few interesting novels and trinkets. Maybe Toshizou would be interested in one of these...?

WC: 1,014
Total WC: 2,431

The tavern was eerily quiet the instant she walked in. Once again, the twelve year old sociopath was wearing her older brother figure's jacket. Her hair was down, and the straight dark strands fell to her shoulder blades. Acid yellow eyes perused the scene in front of her. Thin lips that had yet to widen with maturity stretched into a smirk. Good. Her reputation preceded her. She made her way to the corner of the bar, having to stand on her toes to reach the bar stool. She made no attempt to wave over the bartender, nor did the man make an effort to approach her. She pulled out a book- nothing that she'd be interested in showing Toshizou, of course. It was a comic book. She hadn't gotten very far into it, but it followed a very simple story- an underdog protagonist, some dreary villain who wouldn't last a second in the 'real' underworld, and lots of flashy fights and powers. She wouldn't admit out loud that she liked it. To anyone who asked, she was reading out of boredom, because she had nothing better to do with her time. She hadn't spent any of her extra ryo on it, and she most certainly didn't have two more novels from the series hiding at the bottom of her bag. Slowly, Amaterasu became engrossed in her reading, but made a note to remain weary of the world around her. She didn't put it past any of the patrons to try something while she appeared otherwise occupied. A small, delicate hand leafed through the pages as her eyes took in simple yet pleasingly clean drawings. The main hero launched a devastating blow to a crook harassing his friends, and he reeled back in pain. His punch would've broken his hand if he tried it in real life, though. His form was sloppy, and the thief should've seen the attack coming from a mile away with the way he telegraphed it. She sighed a little and scratched her head. She knew too much about real life fighting to read a comic book like this.

Eventually, she finished reading the story around forty five minutes later. She slid the whole book into a large pocket in Toshizou's jacket before cracking her back and knuckles. She stood up from the bar stool, pushing it back in when she was done with it and making to leave the bar. Before she could exit, however, she felt a large hand fall onto her shoulder. Damn it, not this again. She whipped around to see a large woman, various knives and swords strapped to her hips. Judging by the mask on her face, this one was a bounty hunter. Double not good. And her hand was inching ever so slightly to her sides... Without a second thought, Amaterasu summoned all the fire chakra in her chest that she could before forcing it outwards. A small, pressurized blast rung out from her body. It didn't damage the bar around her, due to its small size, but the floor had nasty scorch marks. The woman, on the other hand... Horrible burns ran up and down her body, blackened skin visible beneath torn shirt fabric. Her weapons glowed an angry orange, slowly losing their shape as they began to drip down her thighs. The smell of cooking meat filled the air. She observed the carnage in front of her with clinical detachment. She was the one who decided to attack a twelve year old, And yet... something unpleasant stirred in her gut. She quickly repressed the unwelcome feeling as a small puff of breath came from the cracked and smoking body below her. Was the bounty hunter still alive? A steady rise and fall of the chest was enough to ensure that she was. A small hum left her mouth. She could leave the woman here, but... That would be inefficient. It would be much easier to simply put her out of her misery here and now. She raised a small, gray ninja sandal before bringing it down harshly with a sickening crack on the woman's neck. Without much fanfare at all, the body lay still.

A snort left her lips. She flipped her dark hair over her shoulder before leaving the bar entirely. As she walked down the street, head angled down towards her shoes, the young sociopath began to contemplate the events that transpired. She had killed someone. Sure, she had done so before, but nothing quite as gruesome as this. Don't get her wrong- she didn't particularly care if people who got in her way died or not. More often than otherwise, they made the active choice to impede her progress by attacking her, or were already ninjas in their own right. They had accepted the risk of death long ago, just like the nameless woman who she had nearly incinerated. A huff left her lips. If she wanted to pursue her goal, then she needed to accept this. Her bloodline was focused on fire and heat based techniques. Deaths as gruesome as this one were likely to occur in the future, and she found that she didn't know what to think of the notion. She supposed she would deal with it when it came up. A yawn left her lips as she entered the inn, walking back up a steep flight of stairs to find herself in Toshizou's room again. She pulled the jacket off, placed it back on his chair, and pulled the comic book out of the pocket. Amaterasu then retreated back to her room. There wasn't any big need to become stressed about the future right now. She might as well unwind. She placed the novel inside her bag, pulling out the next volume. A few minutes later, she was curled up in her scratchy blankets, leafing through page after page. She might have been a criminal. She might have been a murderer. But at the end of the day, she was twelve.

WC: 1,000
Total WC: 3,431

(Exit)

Claiming:
+1,316 words to http://naruto-role-play-rpg.forumotion.com/t37397-blast-wave
+1,000 words to http://naruto-role-play-rpg.forumotion.com/t34606-fire-style-piercing-darts
+1,000 words to meijin 4th flame
+115 words to http://naruto-role-play-rpg.forumotion.com/t40546-heir-of-ash#323851
+17 stats

Approved.