Small Rebellions [Open]

Night fell gently across Hoshigakure. The unmoving horizon swallowed the last defiant rays of sunlight leaving the village in long, sharp shadows. Soon, however, a sea of manmade suns flickered to life across the urban sprawl as shops, bars, and temples alike all went about the nightly ritual of banishing the darkness behind the soft glow of lanterns of every shape, size, and construction imaginable. Somewhere in the distance, a final call to prayer echoed throughout the village reminding the faithful of their religious duties and a certain red-haired kunoichi of the dinner party she was missing.

Yoko Uzumaki was supposed to have been home half an hour ago but, then again, she was supposed to have done plenty of things in her life. She was supposed to have been a chuunin like her sisters were at her age, she was supposed to be well-behaved, and she was supposed to respect her parent's wishes. Yet, here she was doing none of the things. Instead of the flattering evening dress embroidered that her mother had asked her to wear she wore a white tank top, a village headband around her neck, and black leggings that reached down to her calves; and, instead of sitting around a table entertaining her parent's friends with small talk, she stood in an empty training ground entertaining the best way to deface the village's academy.

Her parents would forgive her, they always did—surely, Yoko suspected, just to annoy her.

Before her loomed perhaps the most out of place building in all of Hoshigakure, the academy where students became genin and citizens soldiers. The building itself seemed a strange bastion of modernity among a neighborhood of old-time charm with temples many years older bordering the plot of land on which the academy stood. Darkness, Yoko found, gave the building an almost evil character as the jutting arches and elegant molding bordered on sinister especially given the dim lighting that cloaked the eaves in perpetual shadow. It also made the building a great target; after all, she'd wasted far too many a long afternoon in the stuffy classrooms with nary a smile—maybe she could do something to put a smile on the faces of others who were stuck with such a miserable fate.

Now, where was that paint kept again?

Skirting around to the far side of the training grounds that surrounded the academy, the genin made her way to a wooden shed. The structure kind of looked out of place next to the imposing border walls that separated the academy compound from the rest of the world but, in this case, looks didn't much matter. What did matter, however, was the large loop of chain clamped shut by an imposing lock that separated Yoko from the paints that would allow her to pursue her budding career as a miscreant artist—there had to be a way in, maybe it was a matter of leverage?

Grabbing ahold of the chain and leaning back with all her weight she held on until she could no more and let the chain fall back into place with a metallic clang surely audile throughout the academy complex and beyond for those with especially keen hearing. Sitting on the ground cross-legged before the shed, she contemplated her options—there had to be a way to get into the shed, there had to be.

The concept of getting caught in the act never once entered her head.

[WC: 575]

Masashi had enjoyed a busy day, though technically anything would be considered enjoyable when compared to sitting in a dark lab for two years. It was nice though to get out, meet the current Hogokage, and meet his new team of Genin. There wasn’t much else left for him to do other than get some training in to help him make up for lost time. He didn’t have a specific plan in mind, but something was better than nothing. After leaving instructions with his team for a follow-up meeting to determine his team’s strengths and weaknesses, Masashi made his way to the training grounds to work out and test some ideas for new jutsu.

He must have lost track of time as darkness descended upon the village, in a very short period of time to the Uzumaki Chuunin. He had made some good progress and was totally fine working all the way through the night, but he was interrupted by a sound coming from the direction of the Academy. The sound was definitely metallic; something metal striking something else. “I suppose I should go check that out.” He says out loud, to no one in particular, before heading off in the direction of the sound.

It didn’t take very long for Masashi to find out what was going on. Normally when someone is trying to do something delinquent, you don’t wait around to see if anyone shows up. In this case however, when Masashi arrived at the shed near the academy, he found someone sitting on the ground in front of the door, which was chained shut. ‘That would explain the noise…’ he thought; the chain hitting the door would make a noise like that. Nothing apparently had happened yet, but Masashi was curious. He walked towards the person. “Evening.” He would say to them, stopping within 3 meters of them. “Care to explain what it is you’re doing here at this time of night?”

Masashi didn’t know who it was that was sitting there in front of him, as they had their back to him. No crime had been committed here, and there was no reason why they couldn’t just sit here, but the fact they were here around the same time that a suspicious noise happened was likely more than just coincidence. The Chuunin wasn’t looking to get someone in trouble, so he would be fairly lenient with them, provided they not try and give him a hard time. That was entirely up to them though.

WC: 418

The sound of a man's voice broke Yoko from her thoughts and caused her to heart skip a beat before breaking out into a rapid thump-thump that she was certain would send it straight through her chest. Then came the adrenaline, that glorious rush of energy that urged every part of her being to either take a stand or run for the safety of the dark alleys—there could be no half measures, the biological courage coursing through her veins would not allow them. And so, dusting off her leggings with a few flicks of her wrist as she stood, she turned to face the man who had so rudely interrupted her less-than-legal enterprise.

"Good evening," Yoko replied, her voice remaining as even as her racing heart would allow. "I was just taking a break from training."

As if to validate her statement, she tapped the still-shiny headband around her neck that marked her as an official Kunoichi of Hoshigakure. Lying had long since become second nature to the merchant's daughter. A few years earlier she would have declared her actual intent loud and proud for all to hear with little thought for the consequences. A few choice experiences—one of which involved a food fight and subsequent suspension from the academy—disabused her of the nobility inherent to outright declaring her true intentions. Far better, she believed, to live to fight another day than die on a hill of her own making.

"It's a lot less crowded in the evening, ya know," she added with a matter of fact shrug and sheepish smile. "Makes for a more enjoyable time."

Perhaps one of Yoko's greatest flaws was, however, her penchant for pushing her luck just a bit too far.

"What brings you out here at this time of night?"

TWC: 873

The person sitting on the ground in front of him slowly stood up and turned around, dusting off her leggings. Now that Masashi saw her face, he could definitely tell she was a girl. She had short, bright red hair and similarly coloured eyes. She was a fair bit shorter than Masashi was, with a slim build. The clothes she was wearing definitely lent credence to the excuse she gave, that she was out here training. Masashi would raise an eyebrow at the statement it was common for the odd shinobi to train at night, especially when there were always missions that happened during those times, but it never hurt to dig a little deeper, to confirm if that was truly the case. “Very practical use of time for sure.” He would say to her, in a pleasant tone of voice. “I can’t argue with that, sometimes it’s nice to be able to get some training in when there is less people around to gawk or provide unwanted guidance.” He looked at her for a few moments before answering her question. “I also happen to be out here for some late-night training. I got distracted by a noise coming from this direction. What was it you were working on?”

WC: 209
TWC: 627

"Oh," the girl's face flushed red. "You heard that?"

Racing faster than her heart, Yoko's thoughts darted from one excuse to another testing turning each one over in her head as quickly as she could. The trick to forming a good lie was keeping it simple and believable. Anything too elaborate or detailed would trip you up later. Far better to keep a story vague and nondescript. It worked all the time with her parents, so why couldn't it work with the long-haired man?

"It's a bit silly, really," she turned her face away from the man in mock embarrassment—lying right to someone's face was still hard. "I was, well, I was trying to break those chains."

She jabbed a thumb over her shoulder at the shed's chained door and slowly brought her gaze back to the man.

"I saw one of my instructors do it during class when the lock was jammed," she admitted, the words nearly getting caught in her throat as her mouth went dry. "I was doing laps and just figured it was worth a shot."

She shrugged.

"Turns out it's harder to do than it looks."

Ok, so it wasn't the best story in the world, but it would have to do for now. At worst it was serviceable which was what the kunoichi needed for the time being. All she had to do was keep up the charade for the evening, then she would never have to see the taller man again. Despite her unique appearance, even she would surely fade from memory without a reason to be remembered—the strange girl who thought she could break chains with her bare hands because she saw another shinobi do it, nothing memorable about that.

"I should probably get back to it," Yoko huffed. "Feel free to join me, I only have a few laps left."

With that, she took off at a slow jog along the perimeter of the training grounds.

TWC: 1197

Even in the dim light, Masashi, being a medical doctor, could see that the young lady in front of him wasn’t being truthful originally. Immediately upon being called out, she turned as red as her hair. The reaction was a dead giveaway that she’d been hiding something. He had to work not to burst out laughing, just because the situation was borderline comical, and her reaction was not what he'd expected.

And now the reason she was here came out. As far as things go, breaking the chain on the supply shed would be vandalism at worst, which was a silly reason to arrest her, and Masashi couldn’t be bothered getting her in trouble over it. At the end of her explanation, he didn’t believe a word. The story didn’t really make any sense and wasn’t making this any easier on her.

Masashi would play along, for now though, because he didn’t owe the academy any favours, and he was genuinely curious about what was stored in the shed. “I would imagine so, there’s a reason why they’re used to secure things.” He would say with a chuckle. With that he would walk past her, making 5 quick hand seals, and causing his right hand to glow with chakra. He would put the glowing hand on the lock. “If you really want to get somewhere without causing a scene…” He would start saying, using his chakra scalpel to cut the lock’s mechanism, barely making a sound, and ensuring that the chains didn’t rattle as he lowered them to the ground. “…cleverness will almost always beat overt displays of strength.” He looks over at the girl with a smirk. “Something to think about, I know you didn't come here for a lecture.”

Masashi would then step back and allow the girl access to the shed. “What was in here that you wanted access to so badly?” Who knows, perhaps the rest of the night would be more entertaining than he had expected. It all depended on what was inside the shed; Masashi wasn’t one to always follow the rules, especially since he had the protection of his family’s title if it really came down to it.

WC: 365
TWC: 992

If Yoko's face could have turned a deeper crimson it would have.

"Paint," Her bravado crumbled, and, unable to match the man's smirk with one of her own, she quickly found the ground at her feet supremely fascinating. "Or there was a few weeks back."

Truthfully, the whole thing was rather silly; she didn't even know if the paint was still there. Yet, propelled by the momentum of the moment and her own insatiable curiosity, she slipped past the man without a word and into the shed. Blinking her eyes in the newfound darkness, it took a few seconds for them to adjust to the unlit gloom of the shed's interior. To her left hung an array of tools from rakes to shovels and every tool in-between, while to her right were ten or so unmarked cans stacked on top of one another creating a clumsily constructed pyramid of what could only be paint.

Indeed, if there existed any doubt in the kunoichi's mind as to the contents of said cans, the acrid scent of chemical-based paint invaded her sinuses. Wrinkling her nose in a vain attempt to stave off the smell, Yoko tested the weight of one of the cans higher up on the pyramid—half full it would seem. Judging by the flecks of paint around the rim, the can contained an off-white vintage of paint which—even in the relative darkness of the shed—reminded her of a few of the hospital rooms she'd been in during her short life. For now, however, the can would remain atop its pyramid, and Yoko would emerge from the shed empty-handed still unwilling to meet the man's gaze instead allowing her attention to wander to the nearby academy complex.

"I was going to..." she gave a half nod to the building. "Well, you know."

Scared for what awaited her, it took another shrug before the genin finally dared glance over at the man again. All the while, her heart continued to beat a steady staccato against her chest as she braced herself for a scolding that experience had taught her would soon follow. She was ready for it; it certainly wasn't the first time she'd be chewed out nor, she suspected, would it be the last.

TWC: 1575

And the real reason for her being at the supply shed in the dead of night finally revealed itself. She was here to use the paint to vandalise the shed, and possibly some of the other surrounding buildings. Not the most creative or original criminal enterprise, but usually one of the easiest and cheapest to pull off. It was also fairly easy to get away with if you were smart about it.

Masashi was not one to enjoy someone else’s embarrassment, unless he had set it up as revenge for a previous slight. He’d simply caught her trying to rebel, like he had when he was younger. He’d done it a little differently though, and at a much older age. The girl in front of him was barely an adult by the village’s standards. It almost looked like she was fresh out of the Academy. It was obvious that she had a lot to learn, but sometimes a scolding or punishment wasn’t necessarily the way to do it. ‘Seems like there might be a little more going on here.’ Masashi thought to himself as he watched her walk into the utility shed and go to examine the paint cans on the right side of the shed’s interior. She hefted one, almost as if deciding whether she was going to follow through with her intended plans or if she was going to give up now that she’d been caught. She then turned around and walked back out of the shed, paint cans still stacked where they were originally standing.

The young woman in front of him tried to finish her explanation of her plans, being very vague, likely because she was nervous and embarrassed. Masashi immediately switched from smirk to a much more kind, gentle expression. “Yes, I know.” He would say to her, all pretense of authority removed from his voice. “I’m not here to get you in trouble, especially not for something you haven’t even done yet. Besides…” He then walks into the shed, grabs a few cans of paint, and brings them out of the shed, placing them on the ground between them. “…some of the academy instructors are a bit stuffy, and I think it would be fun to watch them scrub the paint off the walls, don’t you?” Masashi would then walk back into the shed and return with a couple paint brushes. “Where should we start first?” He says with a mischievous grin.

He hadn’t done anything like this in some time, but it was alright to let loose every now and then. Besides it was likely not what the girl in front of him expected to happen; likely was preparing herself to get in trouble of some kind. Seemed like she could use a friend, and Masashi was more than happy to oblige.

WC: 469
TWC: 1461

For the first time that evening, Yoko met the man's gaze without hesitation; her eyes, no longer darkened by whatever scolding she had previously imagined, now burned with equal parts glee and anticipation. Fortune, it would seem, had smiled on the young Uzumaki in her quest to wreak well-intentioned chaos on the unsuspecting academy building. After all, there were certain individuals at the academy who—in Yoko's completely unbiased opinion—were owed a certain amount of comeuppance.

"There was this one teacher, Yoshikawa Sensei," she paused, searched the man's face one last time for any sign of deception, and, upon finding none, continued. "She would always keep the class in during lunch if she couldn't get through the entirety of her lectures during class time—it was the worst."

Hoshigakure's academy did not hold a dear spot in the genin's heart. In fact, her first year at the academy had been one of the worst in her short life. Forced to attend by her parents and expected to succeed as her older sisters had, Yoko crashed and burned academically. Sure, she made friends and enjoyed some days but when it came to class the couldn't have cared less about what was being taught—it simply wasn't interesting. It was only on her second cycle through the academy system that she squeaked by into the station she now held in the village: that of a genin without a team or a direction. So, suffice to say, that Yoko accepted both the paint can and brush with more than a little bit of relish.

"Her classroom is on the far side of the building," paint can and paintbrush in hand, the little rebel began the short walk to the room she used to dread seeing. "Come on and keep an eye out for anyone else."

The intimation of her words was hopefully clear; she didn't want to get caught by someone who had a harsher view of vandalism. About a minute later the Uzumaki found herself squatting in front of the exposed wood siding below the windows of Yoshikawa Sensei's classroom. Cracking open the paint can, coating her brush liberally in white paint, and pausing a moment more to consider the right profanities to use, she began the work of defaming a hard-working teacher's good name.

"My name's Yoko, by the way."

She said this without looking up from her masterpiece; instead, she focused on making her lettering sharp and meaningful.

TWC: 1980

He could tell that the young lady in front of him did not expect that he would not only not give her any grief, but that he would help her pull her “heinous” plan. In an extremely vulnerable moment, she opened up to Masashi. ‘A step in the right direction.’ Masashi thought to himself as he listened to her explain her motive for wanting to sling paint around the Academy.

The name was familiar to him. She wasn’t one of Masashi’s instructors, but he had heard horror stories about her from other shinobi that graduated. Similar stories of withholding recreation time, crushingly difficult homework with humiliation should they not complete the work on time. It was surprising that she was still teaching in the academy, from all the complaints he’d heard. “That definitely sounds like something she should be punished for.” He says to her with a small smile.

Masashi’s time at the academy was a long one and had its share of ups and downs. He never forgot what he had went through but tried to put as much of it behind him. Sometimes though, it was good to let some of that out. That’s what was happening here, and it was a way that he could share a moment with this young kunoichi, fresh out of academy. He saw a little of himself in her, and he wanted to try and be an ongoing positive influence, someone that she could continue to open up to if something was bothering her.

After passing off the brush and can of paint, Masashi would nod and say, “you got it” and would follow her around the side of the academy buildings until they got to the Yoshikawa’s classroom. Masashi would definitely keep his eyes peeled, not that it would really be necessary as Masashi was aware of the current patrol schedule of the village, and there wasn’t anyone due to be around the academy grounds for some time, so there was no rush. It never hurt to be cautious though as someone who wasn’t on duty could simply walk by, like he had. Luckily for them though, there wasn’t a soul in sight. Once they arrived, Masashi would take the lid off the can of paint he was carrying, blue it appeared to be, and dipped the brush in the colourful liquid to begin what was a cathartic evening. He would make sure to stay out of the young woman’s way so as to not infringe her own artistic expressions. It was at that point where she formally introduced herself. It only seemed appropriate to return the courtesy.

“It’s nice to make your acquaintance, Yoko.” He would say to her. “My name is Masashi Uzumaki-Akari.” She wasn’t as formal with her introduction, but that was just how Masashi was. With introductions completed, Masashi would go back to figuring out what it was he was going to do with the paintbrush in his hand.

He didn’t really have any specific message he wanted to brand across the walls of the building, but that wasn’t really the point here. Perhaps he would try and do something artistic. He just started painting and let the brush dictate what happened. While he did that, he casually tried to start up a conversation with Yoko; “Tell me a little bit about yourself. I like to get to know people I break the rules with.” He said with a chuckle.

WC: 573
TWC: 2034