Small Rebellions [Open]

Yoko's attention was fixed on the work in front of her so, for a few moments, she didn't reply to Masashi. A loop there, a cross there, and a vulgarity or two for good measure; yes, it was all coming together nicely. The bold print and slanting font would be hard to miss no matter who passed by and that was the genin's intention—she wanted to make a statement.

"I suppose that makes us..." she paused, searching for the right word—she had never been good with genealogy. "...distant cousins, or something?"

The Uzumaki name was not something that the genin held in particularly high regard much to the dismay of her parents. It wasn't so much that she hated the name but rather what the name stood for in her life. For her, the Uzumaki name was synonymous with privilege, a privilege she could never shake and neither of her parents would ever let her forget. The idea of a clan name bringing prestige to an individual without any deeds to back up such prestige made Yoko more uncomfortable than she cared to admit. Indeed, how could one born into a prominent clan know for certain whether they had advanced in life due to their name or through their own merit? The whole thing didn't sit well with the genie, and so she tried her best to ignore her surname when possible, but it was hard to do so in this case.

"My family name is Uzumaki too," she explained, giving half a shrug. "We've been in Hoshigakure since before the shift of power to the shinobi."

She scribbled out some more profanities.

"I'm surprised we haven't met before, honestly," she could not help recalling all the horrible family parties she'd been forced to attend throughout her life—maybe she had met him before and simply forgotten, it wouldn't be the first time. "Oh, I also just became a genin."

Talking about herself always made the Uzumaki girl more than a bit uncomfortable, so she worked to shift the topic of conversation.

"What about you? You don't look like you make vandalism a habit."

TWC: 2345

It turned out that Masashi and Yoko could be related, which would explain part of the reason why the Uzumaki Chuunin wanted to look after her. “Oh?” Masashi asked. “Why would you say that?” To which she brought up the fact that they share the same familial clan. Family wasn’t necessarily big for him; Masashi was more of the opinion that you choose your family over the traditional meaning of the word. “Yes, that would make sense. As far as I’m aware, that would ring true for my family as well, at least on my father’s side.” The more he thought about it, the more curious he became, vowing to himself to find out exactly how close their families were. His parents were always ones to stay in touch with family, especially in the village. The Uzumaki clan and the Akari clan were both larger families and held some power, at least among the shinobi.

Partway through his random paintings, he decided on a course of action. It would be smart to shift the blame away from them and to pin it on someone that would make sense. There were several factions in the village that didn’t appreciate the shinobi and wanted to discredit and harm them whenever possible. Masashi decided to paint up one of the more prominent faction’s symbols beside Yoko’s handiwork. 

Invigourated by his decision he attacked the idea with a new energy. While doing so, he responded to some of Yoko’s other observations about their relation and possible meetings in the past. “It’s very possible we have both been at family gatherings.” He started by saying. “The last couple years I have been at none because of a self-imposed isolation, and for about eight years before that I went to few because of my being away at Haven’s Medical Academy, where I became a doctor, in addition to learning medical ninjutsu.”

At the mention of her recent promotion, it gave him another idea to provide help and guidance. “Congratulations on your recent graduation.” He said to her. “I happen to be leading a team of Genin right now. I could speak with the Hogokage and see if we can have you join my team. That is of course, if you’re interested or if you’re not already assigned to a team.”

And then the conversation circled back around to him. It was only fair that he shared with her as she had shared details about herself. He laughed when she pointed out that he didn’t seem to be the type to break the law. “Normally you’d be right, but I like to think that everyone has their mischievous side. I try not to get caught when I do though, simply because my mother doesn’t like to be embarrassed, but the nobility never does.” He said with a chuckle. “My mother’s a Countess, Himari Akari, so when I was younger I always had to watch what I said or did because of my family’s status. Now that I’m an adult, my parents don’t necessarily give me more leeway, but I’m much smarter than when I was a child so I’ve learned how to not get caught.” It was nice to have someone that he could talk to about this part of his life; the only other person who really knew what he did or where he went was his butler, because he trusted the man completely. He knew he was taking a risk in trusting that she would be discrete, but sometimes life was about taking risks to see where they go in the end.

WC:598
TWC: 2632

"Lucky," Yoko muttered, envious of her partner in crime's lack of familial obligation. "Those gatherings are the worst."

They really were the worst. Each gathering meant getting dressed up, talking to people she didn't want to talk to, and, of course, wearing a fake smile all to please her parents and match her sisters. It was, the young genin liked to think, a bit like playing a part in a play—a long, exhausting play that slowly ate away at one's sanity. Perhaps that was why Yoko could be so dramatic at times; she had plenty of practice with all the parties she'd been to over the course of her relatively short life.

"I suppose I'd be interested," she shrugged at the idea of joining a genin team. "I'll have to join one eventually and picking a team leader sounds more interesting than being assigned one."

Yoko then fell silent and returned her attention to the work at hand. She'd produced quite the diatribe that was more insult than earnest criticism and equal parts sharpened wit and mundane ribaldry. It wasn't her best work but it would be memorable if only for the company shared during its creation. Frankly, she wasn't quite sure what to think of Masashi just yet. He seemed different than many of the adults she'd interacted with in her life; he seemed more willing to bend the rules. Though, at the same time, his rule-bending only extended to what he could get away with which, in a way, made him just like every other adult—he was a bit of a contradiction, an interesting contradiction.

"Getting caught is half the fun," the Uzumaki girl countered Masashi's view on mischief with her own—perhaps childishly naive—view. "What's the point in doing anything if you're not going to get recognized for it?"

In an attempt to make her point, she added one last artistic flourish to the graffiti: her signature. And, though it contradicted Masashi's previous attempts to implicate a different village group, she even went so far as to include the emblem of the Uzumaki clan beside her name. The whirlpool of her clan was an image that had long ago been seared into Yoko's memory and now the facade of the academy bore it as well.

"What do you think?" she took a step back from her work to admire it. "Pretty good, right?"

Her tone danced somewhere between childish glee and giddy mischievousness. The night had not gone quite the way she imagined it would but that was half the fun of life: the twists and unexpected turns it could take along the way.

TWC: 2795

Masashi had to work hard not to laugh out loud at Yoko’s comment regarding his avoidance of social gatherings. He settled for a chuckle. “They are indeed and I’m glad I’ve been able to avoid as many as possible.” That being said, the parties weren’t really all that bad, just dull. Masashi could hold a conversation as well as any noble, because that was part of his upbringing, and bedside manner was second nature to him because of his education. It just so happened that it was perfect training for dealing with people on a regular basis.

“It’s settled then.” He says to her with a smile. “I’ll speak with the Hogokage in the morning, and we’ll figure out the specifics after that.” He was happy that he could provide her with a little choice in a life where it seemed very little was up to her, at least for the time being.

Her next point was well raised, Masashi admitted to himself. Sometimes getting caught was an adrenaline rush all in itself. The more practical side though, had an excellent counterpoint though, which Masashi was happy to point out as well. “You’re right.” Was how he started off his argument, taking a tone and cadence that was close to classroom lecture. “Sometimes it’s fun to cause a scene or get into trouble. And acquiring some street cred isn’t a bad thing.” He looked over, with a twinkle in his eye, and if Yoko caught on with his tone, she could hear a ‘but’ coming, and see that he was going to lay some logic down on her, like a teacher would with a student. “That being said, the job of a ninja is to get in, do the mission, and get out. Most of the time that mission is to be done without anyone knowing they were there or who they were in the first place.” He paused for a moment before continuing. “Yes, this is not as serious as a mission, it’s just a prank. Sometimes though, the fun comes from doing the deed, getting out, and seeing the reaction of your handiwork without anyone coming after you later for it. I’d say it’s something to consider, as it’s a mentality every shinobi should have, at least in my opinion.”

Naturally as he finishes his little sermon, Yoko made it very loud and clear at least in part who it was that caused their little bit of mischief and Masashi couldn’t help but laugh softly. Not just at her handiwork, but the pride she had at what it was she’d done. He read over her words for a minute or two, soaking in the grievances and sentiment of the words, written plainly for all to see. He would then walk over to her, and gently place a hand on her shoulder. “It sure is. I’m sure that Yoshikawa will be quite outraged after seeing this.” He said to her with a grin.

It was getting late, and while Masashi wasn’t worried about what time he needed to get to sleep, he was more concerned about Yoko and what her parents would end up doing. “While I’m sure you’re used to it by now, if you like to potentially avoid a lecture from your parents, you’re welcome to spend the night at my family manor.” It was a spur of the moment idea, and Masashi was confident that he could head off any words that might be directed her way for being out all night. “We have plenty of guest rooms and I can pen a letter to your parents advising them of your whereabouts and that we spent the evening training as I am your squad leader. My Butler can have it delivered either tonight or tomorrow morning. If not, you can still use training as an excuse should your parents’ question where you were and can follow up with me if they have further questions.”

WC: 658
TWC: 3290

Masashi was starting to sound more and more like Yoshikawa Sensei by the minute—perhaps he wasn't all that different from other adults. Indeed, it took every ounce of Yoko's willpower not to fire back at his lecture with some poorly thought out retort or less-than-savory comment. She figured she owed him at least that courtesy. After all, he hadn't turned her in for vandalizing the academy and even went so far as to help her do it, so he got a pass for the time being; she'd have to keep a closer on him in the future to know for certain just where he stood, maybe one day Masashi would find a graffiti message of his own scrawled out on his residence.

All that, however, was for another time.

"I appreciate the offer to stay over and cover for me," Yoko's tone shifted to a practiced formalism that she'd been well tutored in. "But I should really get home; my parents get worried about the silliest things, and I suspect I'm in for it either way considering the party I missed."

She placed her artistic tools and palate down by her work—it was time to leave.

"Good night, Masashi," she gave a half bow. "It's been fun."

And with that, the girl was off into the darkened streets of Hoshigakure. She had a lot to think about; it had not been the night she expected but it had been one she enjoyed. It was, despite the disapproving looks that awaited her at home, a night that felt productive in more ways than one.

TWC: 3064

[I'll make my claims in a post after this, just want to get a reply out.]

She declined his invitation, which was not entirely unexpected. Considering this is the first time that they “met” it is understandable. Not that Masashi would have extended this invitation to just anyone. She is a member of the same clan, which in his family’s books means she’s to be treated like immediate family, at least until she gave a reason to not receive that treatment. From how Yoko acted though, he doubted that would likely happen. She was a rebellious girl, but she didn’t appear to be malicious, which had Masashi noticed any tendencies in that direction, this night would have ended differently.

“I’ve organised a training session tomorrow with the rest of our team. You’re welcome to join us.” He said to her, giving her the time and location, which was at the training grounds just beyond the academy, tomorrow morning. Yoko then said goodnight, gave him a small bow, and made her way home. “Goodnight, Yoko” He would say as she walked away. She was a good kid, and Masashi wanted to make sure that she felt that there was at least one person that listened to her and encouraged her to be herself.

Once Yoko had left, Masashi went to work putting the paint cans and brushes back in the shed, if only to make sure that none of the students got their hands on it. He put the lock back on the chain, little good that it would do since the mechanism was broken. Once everything was as secure as it could be, Masashi would also make his way home. He would not be going to bed right away though; he had a few things to take care of before that could happen. A message to the Hogokage about getting Yoko on his team was the priority, then sending notes to his team regarding tomorrow’s training.

[EXIT]

WC: 310
TWC: 3600

Claiming:
-36 stats (20 Speed, 16 Vigour)
-2750WC towards Chakra Chains (2750/2750)
-850WC towards Ressurection (3953/4000) (proof of progress: https://www.narutoroleplaygame.com/t44961-reflection-training#353021)

Approved