Don't Look a Gift Corpse in the Mouth [Dana]

Dana hummed and looked off to the side as she considered how to explain. The last time she'd done so, she felt she hadn't quite gotten the grandeur and potentially terrifying nature of the Fae across to Saya. Then again, Dana's fellow Senju seemed to share Dana's own complete lack of self-preservation so maybe she had done a good job but for the wrong person? Ah well, winging it was what she did best.

"To cut a long story short, the Fae are an ancient powerful race from the stars with a penchant for trickery who lived alongside humans for a short time. Back then, they were a general nuisance and had a very loose interpretation of what a 'prank' was. Flooding villages, causing earthquakes... The fun stuff. They never actually hurt anyone though." A light blush coloured Dana's cheeks as she realised she was getting carried away explaining stuff again, and she diverted her gaze down to her lap for a second. She had an annoying habit of completely spacing out and turning into a robot when doing this explanation, and it was one of the few things she found embarrassing to catch herself doing.

"Well, yeah, anyway. Something happened and their 'pranks' turned murderous, hence the betrayal. I want to figure out why." Dana said lamely, feeling that she'd finished the explanation in a rather weak manner.

WC: 231
TWC: 2788

Murata quirks her head, catlike. Dana's behavior in this explanation is odd - it seems as though she has done it a million times, but is self-conscious about it. Is this a worldview that is purely her own? Though she had said before that her desire to find the truth behind the Fae has been superseded, it seems that it is still quite important to her. 

The comparative mythology gears in Murata's head turn. Fae from beyond the stars, are they? How curious. She is immediately reminded of the celestial imagery of the Wolf Temple - imagery that has alienated them from other sects of Ninshu, the same way that it seems Dana might have been alienated for her own worldview.  "How are you going to do that?" she asks, simply. "... and what will you do when you do?" 

137
TWC 1605

That... Was a difficult question to answer. Not because she was being secretive or anything, she just honestly didn't have an answer. Her whole life, she'd felt like she'd been given an incomplete picture of the world. Enough insight to explain most things, but not everything. She was naturally a curious person, and that tantalizing gap in knowledge had been what had driven her for the longest time. However, Murata's question had driven home the point that Dana really didn't even know where to begin looking.

Dana's posture slumped, a minute but noticeable movement. She really hadn't expected to have a miniature crisis about her future today, but it looked like that was where it was headed. After a couple of seconds of wondering how to properly answer, Dana finally looked up at Murata, and she... Shrugged.

"I haven't the faintest clue." She stated, seeming almost happy with that fact, "But that's what makes life exciting, isn't it? The fact that none of us truly know what's happening next?"

WC: 170
TWC: 2958

"That's true. On that note, I'm going to get out of here," Murata says with a wink, sliding from the bed and making for the window, popping it open. Then, she returns to Dana, grinning conspiratorially. How nice to offer a surprise right after she'd said how much she enjoys surprises. "But first...!"

She forms the seal of confrontation, and with a puff of smoke, a chuunin's flak jacket appears in midair above Dana's arms. Will she catch it? Perhaps that is the final test. Either way, Murata leans forward to give Dana an affectionate poke on the forehead, with her Ninshu giving the same gift she'd given a few other shinobi who have proven themselves to her - the Silent Killing technique. Memories flood into Dana of the technique's learning and use, and when she tries it herself later, she'll find it's quite simple to train with Murata's indirect guidance. 

"Congratulations on your promotion to Chuunin, Dana Senju. Those are a few parting gifts. It may be a short while before I see any of you again," she says, referring to the village as a whole. "So you all need to take care of the village while I'm away."

199
TWC 1804

Ninshu: Commune -30AP
Granting Dana Chuunin rank

Were Dana literally anyone else, she probably would've requested the Mizukage stay in bed since it still hadn't actually been that long since her surgery. Fortunately, Dana wasn't like that so she simply gave the woman a big smile and a wave as she began to exit from the window. That was not fair! Dana also wanted to exit from the window, mainly because it was fun. It was also probably a good idea because Dana was sure all those killjoy hospital staff wouldn't see the fun side of letting the kage be all active after having a surgery done. They were just being silly though, it wasn't like Murata had stiches or anything that were at risk. Ninja healing methods allowed someone to be in peak physical shape mere minutes after losing a limb.

"Wha-" Dana blinked and fumbled around with the random jacket as it fell from the air above her, losing all prior elegance as she managed to fall out of the chair doing so. When she finally had a secure hold on the vest, she looked up at Murata in confusion. As she looked up, though, she received a poke in the forehead and a sudden surge of memories and she almost fell backward into the chair once more. She cleared her head after receiving a host of memories from a taller perspective she was used to and looked up at Murata with a confused look in her eye. These gifts were dreadfully nice of her, but what were they for?

"Chuunin?" Dana cocked her head to the side. That sounded... Cool! Great, even. She couldn't wait to tell everyone about it. "That's so cool! Thank ye!" She almost gave the woman a small hug because hugs were great, but it probably wouldn't be appropriate cause Murata was the Mizukage and all. She waved the woman goodbye with a smile, thankful for the thought-provoking conversation and other gifts. Now, it was time for her to go put on the chuunin's flak jacket and eat some breakfast alone in her room because she was hungry. Wait, did being a Chuunin come with a higher wage? Maybe she'd be able to afford an actual house now.

"Of course, ye can leave it to me!" Dana said with a grin and a salute, and then proceeded to run across the room towards the window. She jumped, curled into a ball, and went sailing out of the window Murata had opened earlier. When she landed, Dana ran back to her room to go relax for the rest of the day

[Exit[

WC: 415
TWC: 3373

Claims:
Chuunin rank + stuff it gets
1000 words for Silent Killing (Permission from Kage, taught for half WC)
1340 words for Ninjutsu 2nd spec, other words claimed Here
50 words for Earth Flow Spears A-Rank, other words trained here
975 words towards S-Rank Trifle of the Senju

Murata is just getting ready to escape out the window when Dana beats her to the punch, launching like a cannonball through the opening. The Mizukage peeks down, blinking away sunlight with her new eyes, making sure that she lands safely... aaaaand she's fine. That's good. Murata takes a look around, grabs her things, and then casually sidles out of the window herself to follow, though with a different destination. She's got other places to be right now.

Slinking 'home' - it's still weird to think of the Mizukage's Estate as her home, when she'd just gotten used to her apartment - Murata avoids the other staff, especially the ones that know she should really still be at the hospital. Now that these alleged legendary eyes and various other organs are hers to borrow comes the part where she actually... gets used to them. She goes past her office and heads up to the top floor, to a quiet balcony overlooking the lagoon, and draws Samehada from its hiding-place sheath at her waist.

"Feel any different?" She muses to it, and the blade appears unimpressed, returning to its 'slumber' under the bandages after briefly tasting at her chakra. "Shame."

197
TWC 2,001
Claiming: Memorizing Chakra signature of Dana Senju

2,001 / 3,000 words towards Ninshu: Gratitude

Approved