Watchers at the Gate (NK)

Approved @ Takeshi

Takeshi was certainly terrified at the idea of holding up a conversation. While he was so excited to have someone to talk to, especially an actual new friend, the idea was just terrifying. “Don’t say the wrong thing. Don’t make this weird. Don’t hurt his feelings.” These were the things that were going through Takeshi’s head. Takeshi was in fact worried about this conversation going south, but he did feel differently with Kuniko. He seemed like a very nice person, someone that you can actually trust. Takeshi listened as Kuniko spoke, he was very interesting to watch talk, his body moved with such elegance, almost as if he was trained to be royalty.

"I'm not from this village originally, but my family moved here when most of the other Hyuuga relocated to Hoshigakure.” Takeshi also didn’t come from here. Even from two ninja so different from each other, literally on two separate ends of the spectrum, could have something in common. Even though it was something so menial and common. It was something that Takeshi could latch onto in this conversation.

“Being sent away to learn, interesting how parents operate. How different they could be.” His parents loved him so much they let their son go and train and refine himself. While Takeshi’s only parent hated him so much that she would beat him nearly to death and drive him insane. How interesting that would have been if Takeshi’s mother would have just sent him away to learn away from home and away from the village.

“Mater Ayato had to save me on my way back to the village.” “Master Ayato?” Takeshi thought. “He must be speaking of the same man who spared my life and ruled me innocent of murdering my mother.” Takeshi thought very highly of Master Ayato, not only because of him sparing Takeshi’s life, but because of how respectable he was and how easy it was to look up to him. Master Ayato was certainly one of Takeshi’s role models and he wanted nothing more than to be just like (or better than) master Ayato.

Kuniko seemed so confident, even when calling himself useless. Kuniko is also someone that Takeshi would strive to be like. Kuniko is someone that Takeshi will pay very close attention to. Not only is he easy to talk to, he immediately feels as though we have been friends forever, even though the two couldn’t be more different. “Ryuu. Are you there?” Takeshi thought to himself. “Yeah. I’m here. What’s up?” Ryuu questioned. “I believe that I have found a friend. I want to thank you for your help, you got me through the hardest part of my entire life, and I couldn’t be anymore thankful. But I don’t think I can handle it on my own from here.” Takeshi was truly grateful. “That is all I needed to hear, Tak. You are stronger than you think. You can get through this, I hope you have found yourself a friend. Goodbye Takeshi. Good luck, my friend.” Ryuu responded, sounding relieved and happy. Takeshi could feel a presence from inside his mind leave. Takeshi felt like he could see the world in another way, he didn’t need to have someone to talk to in his head. He now had someone to talk to in real life.

“So Takeshi, what is your story?” Takeshi felt his heart sink, his stomach drop, and his hands shake. Takeshi was still terrified about telling his story, especially when he was concerned that it might mean that this ninja would hate him like so many others had in the village and in the Hyuuga clan. “My story? Ahh you know, moved here as a child. Went to the academy pretty late because of certain reasons. Graduated anyway and now I do missions trying to prepare myself to become a Chuunin. Basic story really. Nothing glamorous like your story!” Takeshi could feel himself speaking, he felt the nervousness in his own words. While he wanted to be completely up front with Kuniko, he didn’t want to ruin the nice conversation that they had been having up to this point. So Takeshi figured he would just try and forget about it and have a nice conversation with him instead. “So tell me,” Takeshi spoke again, quite nervous, “Tell me more about the traveling merchants.” Takeshi felt the sweat accumulate on his forehead, he didn’t know if Kuniko had bought it. Being as sharp as Kuniko was, he doubted it. While a small piece inside of Takeshi wanted Kuniko to push the issue so he can be a true friend to him by being totally honest with him. Takeshi was just far too worried to talk about it.

Takeshi felt as though he was able to dodge a bullet in speaking about his mother. “Thank God.” Takeshi thought to himself. “I don’t know, I feel like this person would be a great person to actually talk to about that night. He would probably know the exact words to say. He seems to be very kind and considerate.” Takeshi continued in his head as Kuniko was talking. Due to his extensive history of talking to himself, he had become quite proficient at having multiple conversations at once. But Takeshi focused solely back onto Kuniko and listened to him as he spoke.

"how charming! It is quite rare for a shinobi to have such a concise story in this village. Perhaps our family branches are not so far apart?" Takeshi had no idea, they could have been far or close and Takeshi would have absolutely no idea. Takeshi never really got to know about his family. Takeshi had never really thought about his lineage, he just knew he was a Hyuuga and had a terrible mother and a dead father. Takeshi took a mental note to actually look into his own genealogy so he could learn more about his family. Just after Kuniko had said this, he flipped his hair long enough for Takeshi to catch a glimpse of a certain mark on the forehead of Takeshi’s new companion. The mark looked absolutely identical to the mark that Ayato had placed onto his own forehead. “Maybe he will know what the heck this thing is.” Takeshi thought to himself.

"Do you really want to know about the travelling merchants? There were nine of them, all different shapes and sizes and there personalities couldn't be farther apart. There was Akari, Keiko, Miyu, Yuika, Ryo, Tsubasa, Kaito, Soma, and Riku. I spent a few months as the personal assistant to each one. I spent the most time with Keiko, she was the fashion designer and a master seamstress. But Yuika also taught me the importance of taking care of your hair. And Kaito was a good man too, he showed me the true path of aesthetics. They all sort of traded me around as group helper, even though I was supposed to be learning how to guard them. Thankfully we never got into any trouble on the road, but boy did they like to argue with each other. They got into play fights all the time, but Ryo was such a good chef that they would always forget what they were arguing about over dinner. Oh no, I'm ranting, please forgive me."Takeshi was certainly interested, “How amazing that life would be.” Takeshi thought to himself. What a life for a young man to learn. Takeshi was very interested and could only imagine what kind of places that Kuniko had been to and what kind of people had he seen. Takeshi saw Kuniko bow once again, he was quite interested in just how much etiquette this young man had known. This reminded him of the hand shaking thing that had happened when they first met. “What a strange thing differences are. He and I are similar ages, yet we couldn’t be any different. The only things that we truly share is the fact that we don’t come from this village originally, and this mark on our foreheads.

“That mark on your forehead…” Takeshi clutched his forehead protector. “That looks exactly the same as this one.” Takeshi pulled off his forehead protector so Kuniko could see the mark that Ayato had placed onto his forehead in the Water Gardens. “I don’t understand what this thing is or why Ayato had placed it on me. We trained in the water gardens before, after I told him about the night with my mother, we talked for a while. He then paralyzed me and jammed his finger onto my forehead, next thing I know I’m in excruciating pain, and then this appears. I know must sound absolutely ignorant, mainly because I am. I never really got to learn about our clan, my mother never allowed me to talk to many people. Could you explain this mark?” Takeshi asked very inquisitively.

“The story you told, of all of the merchants you got to travel with. That, to me, sounds like a story book, I can’t even imagine how wonderful that would have been to learn from such great sounding people. To be able to leave this village and learn from masters of their craft sounds nothing short of paradise. I do hope in our time together either on this mission or afterwards, we can talk more about how each of these merchants affected your life and what you had learned. I actually love to cook myself, I never really have money for expensive ingredients, but I have learned how to cook with nothing and turn it into something beautiful. As you can tell with my clothes, a master seamstress is someone I need haha. I have tried sewing my own clothes. But they never turn out quite right.”

“Also, you’ll never need to apologize to me for talking too much. I have gone almost 20 years with conversations being limited to mostly myself and no one else. Hearing someone else’s voice directed to me, that isn’t hateful, is music to my ears. You can talk for hours and I would enjoy every second.” Takeshi smiled an honest smile, something Takeshi rarely ever did for a very long time. Takeshi loved having someone to talk to that wasn’t either himself or in his head.


Word Count: 1713

"Oh, you have one as well?" Kuniko's gaze was directed at Takeshi's forehead after he removed his headband. It seemed the larger shinobi wasn't well informed on their purpose. Kuniko puffed up with pride with a rich knowledge on the subject. Closing his eyes as though delivering a lesson to a student much smaller than him, Kuniko stated, "That is the Hyuuga Curse Mark. It has a long history in our clan. They were once used as a method of control, but that time has long since past. Now they are first and foremost a sign of a Hyuuga cadet branch member. It is our duty to protect the main branch family members at all costs, such as Master Ayato himself. But they also serve a second purpose. The curse mark will ensure that our enemies cannot steal our clan secrets if we are killed in battle. Upon our death, the seal will destroy our eyes so no ninja may steal them. There are some monsters out there that would pay a bag of sapphires for a Byakugan after all."

Kuniko thought the explanation would suffice, when Takeshi told him about himself. It sounded like the larger ninja was finally opening up to him. He was saying things that really spoke to Kuniko's spirit. He loved cooking as well, what else was there to life asides from fashion? Speaking of which, Takeshi just brought up his lack of prowess with a needle. It certainly was an acquired skill. Kuniko would reply to this, "I would love to offer you some help with sewing when we are off the mission!" Truly this was the beginning of a wonderful friendship. Then Takeshi started saying some awkward things. Kuniko continued to smile as he looked at his partner. He thought for a long time as to how to respond to Takeshi's statement, but could only settle on "you can always talk to me whenever you want Takeshi," in neat even tone. 

It was at this moment that an elderly man approached them asking for directions to the Starlight Sanctuary. Kuniko pointed up the road and gave the old man directions in the most polite way possible. After all, it was their mission to give directions. Kuniko was happy to talk to the villagers. He was always good with meeting strangers, and tried desperately to avoid awkward situations. Talking to Takeshi might test these skills, Kuniko thought. But that was good for him. He preferred Takeshi's gentle tone and scary exterior to his other partner's less intimidating frame but harsh tongue. 

TWC: 2047

"That is the Hyuuga Curse Mark. It has a long history in our clan. They were once used as a method of control, but that time has long since past. Now they are first and foremost a sign of a Hyuuga cadet branch member. It is our duty to protect the main branch family members at all costs, such as Master Ayato himself. But they also serve a second purpose. The curse mark will ensure that our enemies cannot steal our clan secrets if we are killed in battle. Upon our death, the seal will destroy our eyes so no ninja may steal them. There are some monsters out there that would pay a bag of sapphires for a Byakugan after all." Kuniko spoke clearly as he explained what the Curse Seal was for and what it used to be fore. “Control?” Takeshi thought. “How could a curse mark be used for control. Takeshi kept thinking, and remembered that pain he had felt when Ayato had given him that mark. “Can that pain be felt at Ayato’s whim? If Ayato was ever angry with Takeshi, could he, by the whisk of his finger, put Takeshi through that same type of pain?” Takeshi continued to think. Takeshi realized that he was going to need to do some more research on the topic, Takeshi didn’t want to risk seeming anymore ignorant than he already had.

“Thank you for explaining that to me, Kuniko.” Takeshi smiled at him, and rubbed his fingers against the mark that was on his forehead. The new info was something that Takeshi couldn’t decide whether it was something to be happy with, or fearful of. Takeshi knew that Ayato was a stern person, if Ayato had the ability to activate that pain at any point. Takeshi wouldn’t want anyone to have that type of power over himself. “Kuniko did say that was far in the past.Takeshi knew that Ayato was a stern person, if Ayato had the ability to activate that pain at any point. Takeshi wouldn’t want anyone to have that type of power over himself. “Kuniko did say that was far in the past. But yet the mark is still the same as it was then?” Takeshi thought to himself. He He had a lot of questions that we were going to need to be answered. But for now, he was going to focus on the conversation that he was having with Kuniko.

There was a long pause as Kuniko thought of how to respond to Takeshi when had said, “Also, you’ll never need to apologize to me for talking too much. I have gone almost 20 years with conversations being limited to mostly myself and no one else. Hearing someone else’s voice directed to me, that isn’t hateful, is music to my ears. You can talk for hours and I would enjoy every second. Hearing someone else’s voice directed to me, that isn’t hateful, is music to my ears. You can talk for hours and I would enjoy every second. ” Takeshi smiled an honest smile, something Takeshi rarely ever did for a very long time. Takeshi loved having someone to talk to that wasn’t either himself or in his head.” Takeshi worried for a moment that he had made things awkward between the two. Takeshi then made a mental note to chill out on that kind of comment, Takeshi did not want to make one of his only friends, weirded out by him. So Takeshi will keep that mental note from here on out.

Takeshi realized that they were supposed to be watching the gate, when they have really just been talking to each other. Takeshi start branching around, speaking to all of the people that had crossed the village gates. Takeshi had lived here for most of his life, so luckily he knew where most things were in the village. One specific individual came up to Takeshi and asked him where the market was. Takeshi, having fond memories from that place, told the person where it was. He also talked about which booths had the best produce and the best prices. Takeshi could talk all day about ingredients and cooking, but he knew he had a job to do. He bid the lady good day, she thanked him for all of the information and went on her way. “Day is starting to come to an end.” Takeshi told to Kuniko.

Word count: 737

"Yes, it does seem to be growing late in the evening. Few villagers walk the street, and the sun will wave goodbye to us soon. I think our mission is at its end." Kuniko placed a hand upon his hip and looked out over he village with satisfaction. "I think we did well today," he said with a glance towards his larger companion. His gaze traveled up towards Takeshi's headband. "Also, if Ayato himself placed that curse mark upon your head, it means that he cares a great deal about you. These marks protect us more than you can imagine. Any Hyuuga without them would be mercilessly hunted down by organ thieves. But as long as you have that over your brow, they won't come after you." With that, Kuniko gave a nod to his companion to impress upon him the importance of what he said. 

"Now, I think it is time for us to part. It was a pleasure talking with you today, Takeshi. Until we meet again!" Kuniko flashed a smile at the other ninja and bowed a farewell. He would wait for the other shinobi to say any farewell of his own, before turning and beginning the trek home. 


[EXIT]
TWC: 2251

Claiming
E-Rank mission rewards: 600 Ryo, 1 AP and 1 CD post with Village Leader.
5 stat points. 
Takeshi's Chakra signature. 
250/250  Chakra Clense
500/500 Chakra Anesthetic
1000/1000 Chakra Cloak C Rank
500/700/1000 Gentle Fist: Palm Bottom Previous: 200/1000

Kuniko told Takeshi that the mark was actually to protect them. Takeshi understood what he was saying. He hadn’t thought about organ hunters. Takeshi was happy to have had their conversation. Kuniko left as did Takeshi, he headed straight home.

WC: 40

[Exit]
Word Count not claimed: 2490

Claims: +6 stats


Adding 1951 to Protection Eight Trigrams: 64 palms (1929/2500)
http://naruto-role-play-rpg.forumotion.com/t22624-v6-protection-of-eight-trigrams-sixty-four-palms?highlight=protection

Okay. Oh my goodness I suck at this. I am going to also check my thread with Sakuragi to make sure that one isn't all screwed up. I completely took out the progress that I had to hide like a mole and a couple words out of Protect Eight Trigrams. That makes the word count toward the techniques correct. Added stats are at 11 total, which checks out with the correct amount of words. Everything should be corrected. As I said, I am going to check my training with Sakuragi next before it gets reviewed...

Kenshin Uzumaki wrote:That's fine Takeshi, everybody makes mistakes. Even me apparently, because as it turns out Kuniko cannot actually learn the B-rank version of Chakra Cloak due to not having the Ninjutsu spec. Sorry for the confusion there Kuniko, just put the WC into something else and we should be good to go. 

Takeshi, I've been informed that Protection of the Eight Trigrams as is cannot actually be learned, Ayato plans to revamp it but as is I'm afraid I can't approve your claims towards it. Please put the WC towards something else. This one is my bad, and I apologise for any confusion that I have caused here

 I switched it with Mystical Palm Technique