A completely normal day [P/Niko]

It was a completely normal day in the streets of Kirigakure; clouds roamed across the dreary sky and the annoyed shouting of a group of civilians filled the street as a seemingly clueless girl walked straight through the middle of them all. Unfortunately for this poor group of civilian workers, the same exact thing happened every day. No matter what street they'd be walking down, the white-haired woman would always somehow find a way to inconvenience them. They'd tried splitting up, keeping watch for her; nothing worked. At this point, they'd just accepted this woman's presence like a person would accept the rising of the sun in the morning; a complete certainty. After going through this day's round of angrily shouting at her, the group of workers all sighed as one and turned back around to head to their jobs. Not even attempting to try and approach the woman since they knew it wouldn't work.

Once she rounded the corner, the aloof expression on Dana's face transformed into a smirk and she let out a small giggle. The daily ritual she'd created for herself where she always made sure to bump into the exact same group of people every day without fail was probably one of her longest-running pranks yet - about six months - and it was still funny to her. She didn't know any of their names and didn't particularly care to learn them either, but Dana found it was always good to start the day off doing something that made you happy. If more people took her advice the world would be a better place, she felt.

Dana, as usual, attracted a lot of incredulous stares as she almost walked through the village. The beautiful, ashen-haired Senju was dressed in a loose poncho-like cloak that only covered her torso, down to about her elbows. Her trousers were ripped in several places, and she wore only the standard ninja sandals on her feet. It was easy to assume the girl was poor based solely on the state of her outfit. However, the girl carried herself without a care in the world, a serene smile affixed permanently to her face. She looked content with life.

Dana finally made it to the entrance of the military training grounds and, just as she was about to enter, something caught her side off to the side of the entrance. She walked over to it and crouched down to get a better look. There, somehow managing to find a way to grow through tightly-packed earth and concrete, was a yellow dandelion. She reached down and gave it a gentle pat, much to the confusion of several passers-by.

"Good job, little flower." She whispered gently, giving it another pat.

WC: 455

Nico was having a good day. He had gotten the materials for his next creation that being his newest puppet. After dropping them at home so he could summon them when he needed to work he went to his favorite place in the village. That of course being Johnson's supplies and hardware. This store was his favorite, and while he had just gotten the materials he needed here he also had to return to pay for said materials. Walking through the doors of the store he was greeted by a clerk. Though he was surprised that Johnson himself was not here. Greeting the young man he asked for his total. When the clerk responded, a sharp pain similar to a dagger pierced his heart. 

"What, 4k ryo that's insane." The clerk looked at him with an apologetic smile and motioned for the money. Reluctantly pulling out his wallet he then set it on the counter. Sighed and then left. Nico did not have enough money so he let them keep his wallet as well. He would owe Johnson on his next visit. For now, it's time to train.

Walking through the ever-busy streets of Kiri he was met with a strange sight. A small girl was running throughout the streets of Kiri. She sported casual attire and had silver hair. Running may not be the right word for such a sight more like skipping or something of the like. Nico continued on his walk to the training grounds. Taking note of the girl walking directly into a crowd. Seemingly on purpose, such a sight was quite strange. 

Seeing the girl stopped right in front of the entrance to the training center to lean down and, talk to a flower Nico decided that this was a good time to confront the girl. "Hello excuse me little one, you don't happen to be a ninja, do you? This area is reserved for ninja and staff." Nico was sure that this girl was not a ninja someone of her age and stature couldn't be.
(343)

If the sudden voice behind her startled her, the girl made no outward signs that that was the case. In fact, judging from how little she reacted, it would easy to assume that she hadn't even heard him in the first place. She took a second to gently pluck the dandelion out of the ground before slowly standing back up to her full height and turning around to face the boy, her movement slow and graceful. As she turned around the boy would see that she was no child, as her face was clearly that of an adult woman. She didn't blame him for making that assumption, though; her stature had always led to many misunderstandings.

She looked the boy dead in the eyes for a few seconds, her pale green eyes brimming with good humor and curiosity. She would spend a few more seconds almost studying the boy, though her intense gaze never left his face. Suddenly, provided the boy hadn't spoken yet, the girl's striking face would spread into a mysterious smile that betrayed nothing of what she was actually thinking. She then proceeded to completely ignore his previous statement and start talking anyway.

"A Noble! How wonderful to meet you on this fine day!" She said with an almost musical accent that most people would've never heard on the Elemental Nations, "You're just the person I was looking for!"

Assuming the boy did nothing to stop this, Dana would then reach up to the man's face with the hand holding the dandelion she's picked earlier and gently tuck it behind his right ear. Her smile turned slightly mischievous as she took a step back to admire her handiwork with a small tilt of her head.

"Rather dashing, wouldn't you say?" Her brain would then almost seem to catch up on what he said and she would lift up the bottom of her cloak to reveal her village headband dangling from a belt loop underneath it, "Oh! And don't be worrying about it, I'm allowed to be here!"

WC: 351
TWC: 806

Nico watched the girl's response to his prior actions. The girl was so unresponsive. Maybe she was deaf, that was quite possible. So in the time, it took before the girl could speak he said: "you're not deaf are you little one?" Though when what he had presumed to be a child turned around he could see that the 'child' was a fully grown woman. It also answered the question of whether she was deaf or not. So after taking a moment to wipe the shock off his face he replied.

"Oh I am quite sorry ms? I thought yourself a child due to your smaller stature." The man would then listen to the girl address him as a noble. The miscommunication was large in fact. Nico himself lived in an apartment. Watching as the girl lifted a small flower and placed it between the space of his ear and head. It was a little off-putting but he tried to ignore the event. 

"As I said before I am quite sorry for the misrepresentation. My name is Niko Kazan. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Nico would then give a quick bow. If the woman thought he was a noble who was he to deny her assumption. The woman was quite small and he would have trouble meeting her eyes. Though the ever-present smirk he held would be able to show his emotions throughout the verbal engagement.\

"Though I must say I am surprised to see you yourself happens to be a ninja of this village. I myself am also a ninja of this wonderful village. Though due to our current location I must assume you are here to train?" Niko would then point to the headband he had firmly strapped around his leg. He had talked enough for the brief moment and he would eagerly await the girl's response. He definitely needed a training partner. 
(TWC 683)

Dana would simply let out a musical chuckle as the boy's confusion became readily apparent. It had been ages since she last spoke to a Noble, she'd almost forgotten what it was like. Truly one of life's greatest pleasures; people on the Stage didn't know what they were missing! She hummed an odd happy tune as the man apologized for misrepresentation of her age due to her smaller stature and it was quite clear that she didn't mind it in the slightest. She waved a flippant hand to indicate that the boy was fine for making the misconception, she was used to it by now.

When the man introduced himself as Niko Kazan, the girl dipped her head elegantly at his bow. The slight shift in behavior the man was displaying was somewhat amusing to the Senju, but she wouldn't comment on it. Instead, once the man had finished his bow, Dana would daintily perform a small curtsey using the bottom of her frayed cloak in place of a dress. With a small twinkle in her eyes, she would then introduce herself as well.

"Dana Senju, at your service." After she had introduced himself, the man would then make the correct assumption as to why she was here at the training grounds. Before she spoke, Dana would take a moment to look out across the grounds at the various ninja training before leveling her unsettling gaze onto his own, "Correct! Yer see, me name indicates that I'm part of the Senju clan, does it not? And yet, despite all attempts to do so, I've never been able to unlock the unique advanced element of the Senju Clan!" She spoke quickly, hardly taking a breath between words, "However! I have discovered that Wood is the combination of Water and Earth, not one or the other. So yes, I'm here to see if it's possible to learn how to manipulate Earth in order to better understand me lineage."

Only after dropping all that information did Dana remember to take a deep breath, her voice having become a bit strained over the course of speaking from the lack of any new air.

WC: 361
TWC: 1167

Nico was correct. The woman was in fact a shinobi. That did not surprise Nico, usually, the people with the most vibrant and weird personalities and styles were ninja. It was quite strange, but it was slightly understandable. This world is quite cold and complex and in order to deal with this lifestyle one needed to develop a complex lifestyle to protect themselves. Nico took his time to acknowledge her curtsey. It was quite possible that the girl herself was either a noble or thought herself one.

"So I can only assume that you also happen to be noble." Nico would inquire into the at first unsaid thought. Nico had only heard of the limited amount of nobles most of them originated from the village council in his hometown. Those specific nobles were on his hit list. Though it was highly unlikely that this girl was related to any of 'his' nobles seeing as there was no Senju in his home village. 

Motioning for the girl to follow him into the training facility. Room #12 which was his favorite room was his destination so he would continue to walk into said room. Arriving in the middle of the room he would turn to face the girl if she followed him and say, "If you're trying to learn about the earth you came to the right person at the wrong time. I have not gone far into my main element. Though soon I feel ill make a breakthrough in the area. I could teach you basic earth manipulation, once you have looked into your water element that is. I myself wish to pick up water as an element after I have become adept at the earth, the combo just feels right." Pausing for a moment to breathe and wait for the women to acknowledge his answer. He would then tell the woman "Though if you wish to learn your clan's chosen element I may know just the right person for the job" Waiting for a response he would move the conversation to himself.

"While I wish to master ninjutsu my chosen field is puppetry." He would then quickly run through some hand seals and slam his hand against the ground. Soon after a puff of smoke would clear and Nico's oni puppet would be standing there looking down on both its creator and the young woman. He would direct the puppet with invisible strings to do a little spin before awaiting the woman's reaction. 
(TWC 1096)

When the man assumed she was also a noble, Dana bounced up excitedly and brought her hands together with a happy clap, nodding affirmatively. Today was turning into a joyous occasion, indeed! Niko must have liked her flowery gift as he had made no to remove it from behind his ear, which brought a fulfilling sense of joy to the Senju; making Nobles happy was always a delightful endeavor.

"That I am, as are many others you've surely met," she confirmed his question about her being a noble, a perplexing smile on her face.

Dana followed Niko through the training facility, absentmindedly humming a tune as she walked behind him. Truth be told, this was the first time she'd been in this section of the village. The advanced training grounds were a sight to behold for a newcomer and her pale green eyes would be eagerly scanning the interior, trying to take everything in at once. If she ever came back here alone she'd need to be able to navigate it without a guide. After all, it would be dreadfully embarrassing to have to ask for directions.

When the man revealed that Earth was his main element, Dana’s eyes would light up with joy. Not only was this man pleasant company, but also one that would help her with something as well. Her smile would only widen when he told her that he wanted to pick up the Water element as well. Mutually beneficial training was the best kind of training. Dana hated stagnation and any second that was not spent learning something new was a wasted second in her eyes.

"If you seek to learn the Water element then I could help with that. Though, like you, I have not explored the element as much as I perhaps should have." She admitted. When Niko continued talking she would listen intently as he told her he might know a person who could teach her more about Wood Release, and the constant happy expression on her face would somehow grow more exuberant, "You know another Senju? How grand!"

When Niko performed a few handseals and summoned the puppet she would tilt her head curiously, and then give a round of applause when it gave them both a small spin. She giggled and turned to Niko after watching the puppet for a few seconds.

"Where would you like to start?"

WC: 399
TWC: 1566

Mid-thread claims:
Fish Spit (188 words. 25% discount from Advanced Training Facility)

@Dana Senju
Approved Mid-Thread claim for Fish Spit.
Make sure you list it in final claims as well :))

Nico would take note of the girl's pleasant expression. Nico liked learning more about people's personalities. It was somewhat of a hobby of his. So when he noticed that his question on her noble origins had such an effect on the girl he knew he had hit the metaphysical jackpot. The girl had no doubt enjoyed the idea that he had believed her to be of noble origin. Though Nico thought that the idea was only a base accusation seeing as the girl had some kind of attachment to the word noble.

"So you do know the water element. That's perfect! You and I could teach each other our respective elements. I have worked just a little bit on an earth manipulation technique which I could use as a baseline for learning the element. Though if you started with water that would work better with me." Nico wanted to see what level of skill he was working with here. Nico himself was not far in the shinobi field and the girl might be more proficient in the specialty ninjutsu.

"Yeah, I know another Senju. Maybe ill introduce you two sometime, she is a sort of mentor to me. She once created bench's and tables to smash me in a spar using her wood release. It was quite a traumatic experience." He would then grimace slightly that spar was one of his best performances and he still lost quite badly. Maybe he would have better luck in the sparring field with this Senju. Though probably not.

"Maybe you could start off with a basic jutsu and I can try and reverse water manipulation from there. I have looked just a little into the element so I may have a bit more success in the area." Nico would then gesture for the woman to begin her lesson. Staring intently towards her hands for a sign of handseals.

(TWC 1411) Mid Thread Claim 375/375 Earth Wall D-rank 25% discount from training area applied.

Dana, always happy to share knowledge, nodded when the man asked if she could start by showing him what she knew about Water Release. She only really knew one Water Jutsu at the moment, but she felt it would be enough to allow the man to pick up what he needed. She'd never done it before, but she looked forward to trying her hand at teaching. The best way to improve oneself was to try and teach others after all. Dana was no genius but she picked up on things fast, teaching should be no problem.

"Sounds like someone I'd like to meet," She laughed when her training partner described the traumatic experience he'd had with the other Senju. She sounded like quite an interesting character and was the kind of person Dana enjoyed conversing with. She'd keep an eye out for any other Senju on the Islands; now that she knew another Senju was on the island it shouldn't be too hard to find one. Her clan liked to leave large messes wherever they fought, though whether that was due to their personalities or the nature of Wood Release she wasn't sure.

Seeing that the man was ready to begin learning Water Release, Dana cleared her throat and went into tutor mode.

"Since you've been looking into the manipulation of water then you may know this already, but just in case I'll go over it again. Water Release, like Wind Release, can be used as a cutting attack, or it can be used as an excellent crowd control effect with its knockback potential." She'd stop to see if Niko understood what she was saying so far, if he confirmed she would continue, "Generally, you form the Water Chakra in your stomach and expel it through your mouth, but other Water Jutsu require you to manipulate an existing water source. The jutsu I'll attempt to teach you now is the former type."

"This Jutsu was a Water Release technique that was developed to be taught to children so you shouldn't have too much trouble." She brought her two hands together into the Monkey seal, "Once you form the handseal pool your chakra into your stomach, then simply expel it out through your mouth."

To demonstrate Dana, still holding the Monkey handseal, would let loose a thin jet of water to the side from her mouth. The stream would impact the wall to her side with a light impact, and it would be obvious that the technique wasn't the most powerful of jutsu.

WC: 430
TWC: 1996
Jutsu used: Fish Spit