Lake Hangout [P, Izu Momochi]

Some time off finally, a day to relax, the week's reward.. But what to do? Nemui woke up after a restless night of sleep and lay in bed staring at the ceiling. He'd been working so hard lately his body ached everywhere from his neck down to his feet. The skin on his hands felt tender and most importantly, his hair was a mess. Wiggling around on his bed, the boy finally got fed up with staying idle and rolled out of bed. Sluggishly he'd drag his feet into the bathroom. Looking at himself in a mirror, Nemui wiped his skin clean with a wet rag, brushed his teeth and his hair; after putting some clean clothes on he'd exit his apartment and head down to the civilian market stalls.

With the sun already high in the sky and no clouds in sight there wasn't time to waste. Taking to a brisk jog he'd arrive at the stalls only a few minutes later. Nemui slowed down to a relaxed walking pace while observing the stalls, searching for his objective. Ignoring most of them; it was only when passing the fresh produce stalls that he'd stop for a moment and look. After walking halfway down the street he'd finally spot it and hurriedly bought a bag full.. of sweet corn. Smiling toothily at his purchase the boy held it tightly and continued walking until he was out of the busy market stalls, then resumed at a brisk jog once again. It'd been at least a few months since he last got to relax in the same fashion they did at home.

With time his destination would become clear as he turned onto a road leading to only one place, a gigantic lake. Once he got within hearing distance of the various aquatic life splashing around his jog slowed to a walk. With sweet corn at the lake there's only one thing he could be doing and that was feeding the ducks. Coming from a fishing hamlet there were only so many recreational activities one could engage with; Nemui's fondest memories of home were of sitting with his family, feeding the ducks while his father talked about how many fish he hauled that day. Often if not always exaggerating so he could impress Nemui. As a child he thought that one day, it'd be him telling tall tales of how many fish he caught.

Instead he inherited the Hiyu bloodline and while that made his family proud, it also separated him from them. Nemui's mood would seem gloomy as he walked the lake shore. This moping with his thoughts abruptly came to an end when he heard the ducks nearby. With his bag of sweetcorn in hand the boy excitedly sat down on a dry patch of grass. Crossing his legs with the bag between them, he'd carefully scoop out some sweetcorn with his right hand before resting it on his knee, allowing the ducks to come to him when they were ready. Nemui's long golden blonde hair sat on the grass around him, occasionally blowing in the wind coming off the lake. As always he wore fairly old (although clean), baggy clothing with patchwork repairs holding it together.


WC: 537

Already by the lake troughout the morning and now noon, Izu was relaxing at the lakeside, taking so well deserved time off the missions and large crisis that she and her team went trough. The last mission was so much hell. Her brother and sensei lost another eye, her best friend and crush Kai almost died in that god forsaken manor, and Jay was so scared and traumatized that he ran away and never came back, the team only receiving a letter of his retirement from the ninja world, barely explaining anything, if only giving the info that he was indeed, gone. This of course left an empty spot in Izu's team, but also in her heart, as grew fond of jay as a team mate and friend. This is mainly why she took the day to relax and just vibe with the water, and maybe meet and talk to anyone who would get to the lake too.

Izu was acting lazilly, confortable in clothing not usual to her day to day outfit. She wore baggy dark capri pants, along with her usual fishnets covering her legs. For a top, sho only wore a crop top, white in color with her fishnet sleeves to adorn her arms. She mostly felt for loose clothings, letting her skin breathe, showing off also her athletic and muscular stature, her lean 6 pack showing, as well as her rib tatoo and bellybutton piercing in the shape of a little metal kunai twirling around her lower stomach, shinning in the sun. Izu clearly loved piercing and tattoos, having a lot of both. As she dipped her feets in the water on the end of the long wooden dock, she could heard another person arriving. Without noticing her or maybe without paying much care or attention, the younger kid approached the lake shore, relax too and sat in the grass. As he took his time and enjoyed the nature and the weather, he started to feed the birds. 

Izu, currious of who the boy was, tried and got his attention by throwing a stone directly at the next chunk of food he tossed towards the birds, smashing it to piece that the flock flew to get to, and interupting the movement, the rock then falling into the water. ''Heya kiddo. Whatcha doing here? .... Uh alright! Im Izu by the way. Nice weather today right?'' said the girl with a serious look, her eyes piercing, but her face still brandishing a smile of benevolence.

Nemui didn't notice the girl as he approached, keeping to himself and attempting to avoid drawing any unwanted attention -- this would change shortly. While sitting, patiently waiting for the ducks to come to him, he noticed they maintained a considerable distance. Could it simply be that people in Kirigakure didn't feed ducks so they were less approachable? Nemui decided to attempt luring them in, throwing a handful of sweetcorn kernels about halfway between himself and the nearest ducks. He'd aim for the kernels to land in the grass so they wouldn't rot in the water, causing algae, or get stuck in some poor unfortunate fish's stomach. As the sweetcorn kernels travelled peacefully through the air, with Nemui blissfully unaware that anybody may interfere with this relaxing activity, a stone would intercept the kernels sending them flying everywhere.

The boy jumped slightly at this unexpected happenstance and jolted his head to look in the direction the stone came from. Seeing a girl towering over him, not only because he was short but also given that he was sitting on the ground; he looked at her with some disturbed confusion as she introduced herself. Not knowing exactly what to do or say, Nemui responded with some semblance of annoyance reflected in his voice "Uh.. Hello, I'm here to feed the ducks." The boy glanced in the direction where ducks used to be, now scattering in fear from the rock Izu threw. He'd look back up at her and resume with "Or at least -- that was the plan, but I guess that can wait since I've got company now." Doing his best to see the bright side, Nemui grinned nervously while taking a deep breath in through his nose. His demeanor and tone of voice shifted, now calm and friendly.

"I'm Nemui, nice to meet you Izu." Looking over the girl briefly, she didn't look familiar but she did wear a Kirigakure headband, same as him. "I see that we're both shinobi in service to Kirigakure, although I've only recently graduated from the Academy -- how about yourself?"


WC: 344

Izu was intrigued at the young man, who seemed to have a weird duality in his personnality. Indeed, to Izu keen and observative eyes, Nemui seemed both naive and young, an impressionable and too optimist young man for the dark and ruthless world that was the one of shinobi. But at the same time, for his age and all of the first impressions, he seemed also grounded, not too sensitive, and had a presence letting someting more serious about himself than just the light and children-like side of him. 

''Uh... Ducks? Not my thing. Inlands creatures and animals are just not as cool as shores or sea ones. Take a seagull for exemple, ready to risk its life each time it dives to catch a fish for his young ones, risking to get snaped by a stronger fish waiting for a snack. I prefer ducks roasted with glaze ahaha'' Chuckled in a calm and soft voice Izu, wanting to give her own toughts without being rude. ''Yeah, congrats on the graduation by the way! I've been a ninja for a moment now, almost 2 years! I've graduated a bit late, but lets just say I've had a hmm- hard childhood.'' added the young athletic Hyuuga girl.

As she continued to talk to him, she pulled out of her bag a little pocket book, small enough to fit in, and started to read it while continuing talking. On the book cover, a title could be seen: Journeyman's Guide to the human anatomy and the tenketsu system


While Izu brushed and updated her ever growing medical and tenketsu knowledge, she asked a few questions to Nemui, wanting to get to know him. ''Who is your team sensei by the way? I'm curious! And as a ninja, what is it that you do? Don't want to be rude, but from appearance alone I can't tell that much.'' said with a bit of a sarcastic tone the blonde girl. Of course, this was not entirely true, as Izu was not only a byakugan user and could see and sense the nature of the chakra used by Nemui, but also was very well versed and a true expert at medical knowledge and practice, knowing most of the types of jutsu and chakra kinds, as well as having in her repertoire an extensive list of uniques bloodlines and abilities that could exist in the ninja world, making her able before the question was enven answered what were the particularities and abilities of the young Nemui.

Nemui felt some comfort as the girl mentioned finding shore and sea animals "cool." Although her following statement about seagulls would cause him to stifle a laugh. Living by the ocean for as long as he did, Nemui saw many instances of seagulls attempting to swallow prey beyond their means; they were entertaining creatures no less. As the conversation shifted to consuming ducks he'd tilt his head slightly. At home there were always more than enough fish that eating ducks never crossed anybody's mind. Still, while Nemui was taken aback by her statement he'd also quickly accept it, they were just another animal after all. He'd listen attentively to the girl as she continued, congratulating him but also providing some information about herself.

"Two years huh.. you're my senior then." Nemui would remark before continuing. "Did you want to talk about your childhood?" He nervously asked, unsure of whether the girl brought it up as a topic she wished to discuss, or just to explain her late graduation. Then seeing her pull a book out and begin reading, Nemui anxiously brushed his right hand through a portion of his hair. Upon reaching the end he'd begin twirling it around his fingers, feeling increasingly uncomfortable as the girl had begun reading during their conversation. While he had been trying not to stare at her overly long he'd glance briefly here and there, eventually catching the title of the book she held.

Nemui wasn't informed on Tenketsu points although he was quite familiar with human anatomy, given his bloodline. He'd perk up slightly when she spoke again, feeling some relief over the fact she hadn't simply grown bored and decided to ignore him. "I don't have a team Sensei yet — although I do have a man I consider my Sensei. You might've met him already if you've been a ninja for two years, his name's Dracoso." Nemui would observe for a reaction briefly before continuing to answer her prior question. "Aside from the time I spend learning from him, I train in Taijutsu and physical fitness by myself for a few hours every day and missions keep me fairly busy outside of that." Stopping for a moment to think, there wasn't much else to say about himself.

"How about yourself? You have a team Sensei and things to keep you busy on a daily basis?" Nemui wore a faint smile at this point in time, growing more comfortable with the girl's presence as their conversation progressed.


WC: 414

As Nemui reacted to her saying she ate duck, even if she didnt as she was too poor, Izu had a faint smile form on her face, happy about this chilling and discussion time they wer taking, in the middle of their active life of danger and action as ninjas.

''Yeah I'm older I believe ahaha... And hell nah, lets not talk about my childhood, I'm having a good time so dont ruin it with this past shit please.'' Replied quickly Izu, now back with a very annoyed and serious face. Her past was something she didnt take lightly, and didnt see as a nice and conforting thing to talk about. Especially not with someone she had only met a few minutes prior. To discuss her hard, dark and cold past, she would need to trust him enough, plain and simple. Izu was a harsh and hard individual, but once her trust was acquired, she was funny, emotionnal, and more open.

As the kid appeared stressed and anxious that she was reading at the same time, Izu conforted him by replying back, with her smile back on her scary face, lighting up the emotions of the piercing-riddled teenager. ''Hey dont mind my reading, I can do both talking and reading, its effortless for me.'' added Izu.

The young kid also inquired on her team, and most precisely her sensei. ''Yeah I do have a sensei. In fact, he is my brother, well half-brother.  Im sure you know him, he is called Shiro. And yes, i've met and trained with Dracoso, really cool dude.'' said Izu, talking about the collegues she had trained and learned with. 

''I'd say my fighting style as a shinobi is quite unique! How about you follow me and I show you instead of talking about it ? we could even make a little bet out of it ?'' Replied Izu with a smile, keen on showing off her abilities and displaying her preciseness. After receiving the answer from the young one, Izu would bolt, sprinting really fast onto the water surface, up until she was in the middle of the large lake, standing on the waves with her ninja sandals in contact with the water, in perfect equilibrium.

''Common Kid! Faster!'' Yelled Izu to Nemui, barelly following behind the really fast hyuuga kunoichi.

Nemui would recoil slightly as the girl reacted negatively to her past being brought up, calling it "past shit." Although he had no intention of pushing the subject further, understanding that may offend her. To the girl's insistence that she could read and talk at the same time he would simply smile and nod. It wasn't so much whether she could do it or not that he had concerns about but once again, this issue wouldn't prove fruitful to push back against. Then at the mention she had a sensei that was also her half-brother and she trained under Dracoso as well, Nemui's interest piqued.

"That's awesome, we've both been trained by Dracoso and you've got a family member to mentor you. Growing up, I learned what knowledge my family had to offer about things but they couldn't really teach me any techniques."

Later as the girl insisted on showing Nemui her fighting style he grew quite a bit more nervous. He was still quite novice at this whole thing, with scant experience or techniques. Especially, going so far as to make a bet on something.. but what? "I'm still new to this whole thing so, I'm not confident in staking anything really. I'm sure you're currently a lot stronger than me currently, although I will continue trying my hardest to improve." Reluctantly standing up, Nemui would follow her onto the lake using surface walking, unsure of exactly what she intended to show him or how.


WC: 246

[OOC: Heya, sorry it's been a while. I haven't had the time to really focus on posting lately.

I sincerely thank you for waiting all this time and hope that I can meet your expectations going forward.]

''Yeah I trained with Dracoso and its was quite cool. To be perfectly honnest tho, I think I prefer to practice alone, that way I always keep an edge on my opponents and they never know what im capable of.'' Replied Izu in between two sentence, the discussion continuing quite fast and in a state that resembled more and more confort, maybe even the beguining of a friendship. 

As Nemui replied to Izu wanting to spar, he didnt seem too sure, neither wanting to fight against someone strong but also to fight at all. Nonetheless, he followed her toward the middle of the lake, both of them using their water walking technique to maintain equilibrium, and sprint atop the surface of the lake, creating ripple with each foot steps they took over the waves.

''See its not that bad walking on water right? I'm going to buy myself a boat one day and travel at sea, voyage to different countries to study and learn, live adventures and establish friendships abroad. What about you?'' asked away Izu to the small blondy kid.

Ah shit. She just realized she would need to go away, and fast! She had a training scheduled with Shiro today, and she almost forgot. Well this was a bad way of presenting and meeting someone, but it was one of the rare time she forgot an appointment and she really needed to go.

''Heya Nemui, I just realized that I had something to do in like 10 minutes and I'll actually need to run to get there in time! We'll train and spar another time if you'd like, im still up to the challenge and i hope you'll train more for the occasion! See ya!'' added the blonde hyuuga as she started to run on top of the water surface, body flickering in the horizon and tree canopy to reach her destination.

[EXIT]

TWC: 1535

using 1500 WC to learn Chakra Infusion Skill at 25% (2000WC normally) for max stats.

35 WC going toward Hidden Arms to start learning it at 25% (normally 1000WC) 35/750

Nemui was attempting to psych himself up when suddenly Izu remembered she had to be elsewhere. Taken aback, the boy would answer meekly. "Oh.. Okay, well, I'll try to be better prepared next time we meet." He'd wave goodbye as a growing sense of disappointment replaced his prior feeling of anxiety. Maybe he really wanted to spar with the girl after all.

[Exit]

Claiming: 1604 Words
+ 32 AP
Muscular Overdrive 2658/3000 + 342 = 3000/3000
Lightness Skill 0/1000 + 1000 = 1000/1000
Dropping remaining 262 words