Between the Shelves

The lone Kitsune walked amongst the bookshelves within the Thunderpeak Campus. She spent more time here ignoring studies and focused on learning and reading the stories of others be it fact or fiction. The small woman wandering between the shelves was not uncommon for her. Her ears were upright and her tail swished about while looking up and down the library’s aisle of literature. Her purple robes flowed in contrasts to her orange hair and fur. It was not often Hikari felt comfortable walking about with her appearance fully out but for her, the library was a sanctuary.

She was still a student at the academy and was able to survive into young adulthood through Kumogakure’s history but her mind was elsewhere. Her thoughts lingered in the pages that she had read the day before as her body wandered the shelves of the campus. Wandering about with clouded thoughts, the Academy Student found herself aimless in the library portion for the campus. Ever elusive to the demands of the academy, she had spent much of her school time either at the back of class reading or present here in Thunderpeak Campus doing a hat she was doing now, wandering about.

WC: 200

After spending much of the last few months living and surviving in the Kumogakure's mountains, Jun finally returned to the village. Much more by a demand from the Raikage, who summoned Jun to a meeting in his chambers. He was enjoying his life of solitude and hard training in the wilderness, but he was still a loyal Cloud Shinobi and an order coming from his Raikage was an order to be carried out.

His trademark blonde hair was now much longer, down to his back, and completely messy and tangled, thanks to not going to the barber for quite a while now. And his smell was...exactly what you'd expect from someone who had lived for months in the wild, without access to shampoo and soap. Such things no longer bothered the young shinobi, who got used to it after some time spent in the mountains, but it clearly bothered the other citizens of the village, as their faces contorted whenever Jun passed through them on the streets.

Yes, Jun would stop by his house to check on his mom. She would be extremely happy with her son's return, and would probably provide him with a delicious feast and a nice hot bath. But the young Shibasaki clansman wanted to do a quick stop at the Thunderpeak Campus library. The reason? He had remembered during a dream the night before something his father always told him while he was still alive: "A shinobi's body must always be prepared and in great shape, but a Shinobi's brain must always be twice as prepared and in better shape". So after months of honing his physique and ninja skills, it was time to once again exercise his good old brain.

As he wandered around the many bookshelves of the library, looking for books about Kekkei Genkais, survival in the wild and ninja equipment, Jun came across a somewhat curious woman, who was absentmindedly looking at some books on the shelf in the "ninja fiction" area. She was "curious" because of her physical feats: she had fox ears and tails! Jun never heard of any clan with such distinctive features, and the books he had already read about bloodlines in the Shinobi world had no mention of such characteristics. So he had only one way to find out more about that woman: communication.

- Hello there! - he greeted her, constantly waving his hand while while looking with a certain fascination.

WC: 406

Hikari's mind was afloat in proceeding that the sudden greeting caught her off guard a bit. It was when she turned to greet the individual that she craned her neck a bit to meet his eyes. Standing almost a full foot above her head, minus her ears of course. In fact, Jun likely saw them twitch before she turned to face him. Her glasses slid down her face when she moved her neck and thus pushed them back up to get a better sight of the genin. There was much for her to learn and discover and finding someone browsing the shelves as she did was not uncommon but considering she loses herself often, it was not surprising to her that she might have wandered into a section she had already gone through some time ago. Her love of reading did show as when she turned to face, a couple of books in her hands had revealed themselves fully to being some more uncommon legends and lore of the shinobi world, ramblings more likely but wonderful stories nonetheless to her.

Inspecting the thin male, Hikari's sight would be easy to see not the greatest but it appeared she was keen on observing and taking in the information. Not knowing the individual but knowing that only shinobi cared to enter the campus, Hikari gave a light bow, finally satisfied with her inspection, her tail began to lightly hold itself and sway instead of being stiff and upright. "Hello there. I do not believe that I have witnessed you in amongst the shelves before." She began, her voice soft like a morning breeze, elevated in tone and formal. "However it may be improper for me to state such a comment due to how my focus wanes from my surroundings at times." She gave a similarly soft smile to Jun before looking back at the shelves. "I may not have an occupation that befits a position within the campus at this moment but if you need aid to find any literature I may have cataloged it mentally." She included before moving one of the books off the shelf to her small growing stack in her arms. A total of four books now were being held by Hikari as her focus returned to Jun.

Hikari's focus was intense and sharp on Jun. She wasn't necessarily taken aback by his general appearance or scent for that matter considering how she was raised and her own past not being the cleanest and as much as her prim and proper attire within the library would almost indicate a sense of position within the campus, she wasn't a neat freak or germophobe. She herself however feared for the potential lingering and damage of the books. It was baffling to see someone in such a state let alone within Thunderpeak Campus' library. With the state Jun was in, it was surprising they let him into her own opinion but Kumogakure's ways were always strict technically there was not a policy that she was aware of that would turn him away, even if she thought she saw a stick poking out of his bright blonde hair that kept its sheen somehow even with the layer of grit and dirt on him. Being rather lanky and tall at least cut the imposing aspect of their height difference and he seemed well intentional and mannered to her so she figured to not simply judge this new book by its rather unkept cover. Hikari kept her smile,  hoping to encourage some communication and potentially a new friend within the village as a student.

WC: 600, TWC: 800

Jun kept looking fascinated at the fox girl as she turned her attention towards him, saying a few words and offering to help him if he had any trouble finding any specific book. Apparently, she had memorized and catalogued the whole gigantic Thunderpeak Campus library in her mind... and that was impressive. Jun could noticed that she was kind of scanning him with her eyes, something that Jun was very familiar with, as he also does that when meeting someone new.

He could notice hew looking at an specific point of his messy and dirty hair, which prompted him to put his hand in that spot of his hair. He felt a little poke on the palm of his hand, before he grabbed and pulled out what appeared to be a small stick. "I'm a freaking mess right now..."

- Oh this... don't mind about it, I just returned from a long trip in the mountains... - he said, kind of embarrassed with the fact that he had a stick in his hair  - But since you offered, I could have some help with some books... I just can't find two of them: The Fungal Diversity in the Lightning Country Mountains and The Art of Sealing... I've looked everywhere and I just can't find them...

Jun kept a big smile as he also scanned the mysterious Fox Ninja: she obviously was a Shinobi, as Jun knew all the staff of the Library, as he already spent countless hours there in the past. She wasn't also a Genin, as Jun knew most of them and he never crossed paths with her before. An academy student, perhaps? But what most intrigued the young Shibasaki clansman was by far hew Fox features, as he never heard of such unique features. Was that a bloodline feature? Was she developed in an lab? Well, something he just wouldn't find out by just starring at her.


- So... let me introduce myself... I am Jun Shibasaki, of the mighty Shibasaki clan, a Kumon Genin and hopefully, a soon to be Chunin! And you are...? - he asked her, still with a big smile on his face and now placing both hands behind his head, demonstrating some kind o social awkwardness.  

WC: 374
TWC: 780

A lot of things were remote for Saturn Sentobi. When he was not required to physically be present to accomplish any given task, he would rather not be present. As heavy rain poured and wicked bolts of thunder struck mountain peaks outside, just past the glass panes on the walls of the infamous cathedral on Thunderpeak Campus, the eyes of several scattered young children in the halls remained rolled up into the backs of their skulls. Their hands held books of various genres that seemed beyond their years as they sat diligently on library chairs besides library tables. Most pets weren't allowed in the important sections of the library and there was hardly anything peculiar about a bunch of academy students catching up on their reading in their spare time. It would probably be more weird if a group of Genin or even Chuunin were spending their spare time in the library.

While Saturn's wandering mind frolicked through the perspectives of daydreaming children, reading the words in the books in front of each of them, his body remained idle on a table with a view of the cliff. Whenever he found a book that he particularly enjoyed, the fortuneteller would read it with his own eyes rather than with borrowed senses. His hands flipped through the pages of a book with a mushroom on the cover page as his shimmering blue eyes scanned through the last few pages earnestly.



Damn. Saturn used his clunky metal arm to close the encyclopaedia in front of him, and the sound of falling books and heads broke the pin drop silence in the cathedral. Children looked around, confused, while others snoozed with their heads on their tables. It was probably immoral to borrow minds in order to open multiple tabs on the reality simulator that was the universe in the Yamanaka clansman's mind, but it was harder to get caught when using children in the process. The blonde haired young man carried his book to the shelves, and placed it back in its place just in time to wander in front of his old friend Jun. "Shibasaki. I was not aware that you read." He smirked playfully, and then glanced at the fox tailed girl next to the sun mage with a curious frown, pointing at her. Saturn's cyan beanie turned purple as Mimas the octopus unravelled into its tentacled form, its woollen mimicry turning gelatinous and blobby as it descended from his head and perched on his shoulder, its black eyes peeking at the duo from behind his neck. "Is this your familiar?"

---

WC: 590

Hikari nodded in understanding to the concept of being in the mountains as Kumogakure was situated in the mountains and most shinobi used it as a source of training and or relaxation given their preferences. It was not uncommon to find a mountaineer within the Shinobi Force of Kumogakure and with that mentally checked off the list, gave a small thumbs up to Jun's follow-up question about books. "Off the top of my head they should be in their designated location determined by the campus’ organizational system.” She began to go through her memory on where the two books were going to be located while she spoke, there was not much that she had not at minimally perused within Thunderpeak Campus’ library. There were some topics that she took a liking to but nothing was out of the question for reading for herself. Some topics were not in her normal wheelhouse but were not the subjects being asked for now. Gesturing to follow her as she moved within the library, the small Kitsune girl's robes would flow as she maneuvered around the bookshelves.

"My name is Hikari Kobayashi. I'm simply an Academy Student myself at this moment in time. I am a member of the Kitsune Clan, though our bloodline has had a recent development that led to some . . . changes in our heritage." She started speaking confidently before her ears slowly lowered against her head at her final comment. She shook her head resulting in her ears to perk back up as she began to change the subject. "Seeking more knowledge for your next excursion into the mountains?" She asked as they got to the appropriate section shortly after a small commotion was heard somewhere else in the library. Hikari took note of that however deigned to let the staff members properly handle anything as she was simply just a lurker within the campus. She had remained a student far longer than most would be allowed but she was able to make her way through the library without much difficulty. Should Jun know the section where the book was supposed to be located, he would likely be able to tell Hikari walked in the most direct path to the section. The books she was still holding onto remained in her hands, two about various shinobi storylines, one about astronomy and the fourth that she had just picked up was about naval navigation.

Very quickly another individual came into view as the two, should Jun follow, moved to find the first of the books that were being requested. Another tall individual stood before Hikari as they neared the first intended book, The Fungal Diversity in the Lightning Country Mountains. The expressions presented by Saturn were returned with an equally unamused look by Hikari. It appeared that the two knew each other to her and she would rather let the two converse over her involvement as her focus went to the beanie on the Yamanaka clansman's head. It was quick to expose itself as not just fashionable headwear but revealing itself as an Octopoda. Her eyes raised at this realizing that Saturn had pointed towards her and asked a relatively simple question that was met with a furrowed brow from the small woman. "I presume the interaction you are having is banter with Shibasaki-san, however the implication that I am a familiar to an individual is rather degrading." She retorted giving a stink eye to Saturn and then turned to look at Mimas to see the response the animal would provide given her response to the genin.

Hikari's mannerisms were cordial up to that point as she did seem to have a bit of an issue with retorts towards herself as an individual. She was tired of being subjugated or even objectified due to her own past and took it upon herself to be more assertive to defend her own autonomy as an individual. She knew that if Jun was a friend or acquaintance to Saturn it was likely well out of her own scale at this time to properly defend or even advocate for her own position within the hierarchy of people within the campus. She tended to stick to herself and her own knowledge base thus stunting forward progression for a while. She was young still within her clan though many eyes still lingered heavily on her even after Kumogakure broke away from being aggressive in its shinobi formulation. With books in her arms, it was easy to tell she would be crossing her arms if it was not for the four tomes within her arms. Her stance however indicated that the Kitsune clan member was not opposed to conversation though her actions were to make apparent her stance on how she was viewed as an individual.

WC: 800, TWC: 1,600

Hikari was very cordial towards Jun when asked about the books he was looking for. He obviously knew where those books were, but he thought that a book search was a great way of finding out more about the fox kunoichi, especially beacause she seemed so connected to the library. As expected, Hikari knew right away where the books were, so she told Jun to follow her as she swiftly moved within the library. As they did, she presented herself to Jun and mentioned something about a change in her clan's heritage recently. The Shibasaki clansman noted as her fox ears lowered against her head as she mentioned it, so that should be a rather delicate topic to her. Before Jun could think in a way to politely find out more about the changes to her bloodline, she quickly changed subjects and asked Jun about his next trip to the mountains.

Yeah, pretty much that... Have you ever been there? Or as an academy student, you're not allowed?

As they continued to chat, they've arrived at the area where they would find the first book Jun asked for, and for the genin's surprise, he once again unexpectedly ran into his old friend, Saturn Sentobi. The jashinist ninja always found a way to surprise Jun, but this time it only seemed as he was just reading a book... when he used his metal arm to close the book. At the same moment, the usual quietness of the library was interrupted by the sound of falling heads and books. "He never changes, does he?" 

Ah, Saturn... long time no see, my friend. I see you are once again... multi-tasking. - Jun smirked as he greeted his friend. The Shibasaki clansman was well aware of Saturn's mind control prowess and his taste for using other living creatures as minds as vessels for a myriad of things.

As the flamboyant shinobi greeted him, he also made a rather rude joke about Hikari, asking if she was Jun's new familiar. The banter visibly irritated the fox kunoichi, even though he kept her composure and cordiality. 

Hikari, excuse my old friend Saturn... he has a rather unique sense of humor. - Jun said, as he now stared at Saturn, giving he the looks as he tried to defuse the situation -  But he's a fine Kumogakure shinobi, and a Warmonger's arena legend. So old friend, getting your mind sharp for your next excursion to the arena? 

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WC: 410
TWC: 1190

"Haa?" Saturn's jaw dropped when the fox tailed specimen spoke fluent human. It talked. He thought to himself, scratching the stubble on his face as he looked at Hikari in disbelief. His eyes went to her ears, then her tail, and having been standing within 2 meters of the duo in front of him he was able to use his sixth sense to learn more information about the fox girl. Taurus. Likes: Books, Reading, Night time, Learning, Cozy Nooks, Sweets, and Ropes. Dislikes: Confrontation, Aggression, Burning of Books/Knowledge, General Destruction of Property, Arson. He gathered the information quickly, nodding his head as the information came effortlessly to his mind's eye. "Ropes?" He blurted out inadvertently, visibly suspicious. He then turned his attention to the octopus on his shoulder, picking it up by its nape. "See, Mimas? You should be more like her. Real familiars can talk human." He scolded what he often called the ugly disgusting purple blob, shaking it with his brows in knots on his forehead, as he was displeased with its performance. "Mimas!" It pleaded out using the entirety of its vocabulary in vain. "Aw man, I don't know what you're saying Mimas. Good familiars get treats, see? Here, catch!" Saturn reached into the pocket of his cyan hoodie and tossed a wrapped piece of sweet candy in Hikari's general direction, its trajectory placed in such a way that it would pass in front of her nose. 

"Mi, mima, mimas...." Mimas sulked briefly, before it began to beat and throb while its pigments showcased strange hues foreign even to the eyes of Saturn, who had seen colors from the worlds of birds and bees. Soon Mimas turned into a bottle of multivitamins and its companion scratched his blonde head looking perplexed at the cephalopod's peculiar choice of disguise. He then finally turned his attention to Jun who had begun to speak. "It was not a prank?" He looked back and forth between his compatriots and Jun's subtle glances helped quickly make it evident to Saturn that the latter had been gravely mistaken.  "It's not a prank." He then answered himself and cringed at his mishap. "My sincere apologies, miss... I've never seen a.." He searched deep in his psyche for the right words rubbing the back of his head and averting his gaze. "I've never met a... It's just that.."


 He let out a sigh of relief when Jun kinda bailed him, commending him on his efforts in Warmonger's Arena. His light blue eyes shimmered subtly with a tinge of pride, but his face turned solemn. "A legend? Far from it. The arena is for small fry, Shibasaki. Think about it, Jun. If all of the strongest Kumon ninjas killed each other off in the colosseum, who's gonna be left to guard the gate? Who's gonna carry the boats?" He gestured with his outstretched hands though he was bestowing upon his comrade a divine revelation, then leaned in towards him and tapped his own temple, "Warmonger's Arena is where the weak go to die."

---

WC: 508
TWC: 1098

Spoiler:

Hikari's eyes were drilling into Saturn as he appeared to double down on this, flustering the young Kitsune. When the question of ropes was proposed, her face turned more red with a mixture of confusion and anger. Words were beginning to formulate as her ears stood tall, her tail upright as well. Her mind was racing with thoughts before Saturn's uncanny commentary about good familiar resulted in the Genin tossing a candy at the kitsune. Dumbfounded by this she simply stared at Saturn. Books in her hands were gripped tightly as her glasses slide down the bridge of her nose as she did not blink for a a few moments as the candy hit her square in the nose before landing on the ground. Without dropping eye contact she bent down and picked up the candy and offered it back to Saturn with her arm holding the small stack of books maintaining its grip.

She let out a heavy sigh before closing her eyes and relaxing before re-opening them. Hearing Saturns backpedaling as shook her head, “Indeed it was not a prank.” The young Kitsune began offering a smile to begin anew in their introduction, “Apology accepted. I should have equally elaborated better upon the initial confusion and not let aggression take root in my perception of the situation.” She added onto her initial words. Her smile genuine and a level of warmth to it, however her critical eyes made it very clear that she would remember this and likely find a way to return the mistake in the future should the opportunity arise.

If Saturn would accept the returned candy, Hikari’s arm would return to supporting the books her one arm was holding alone, loosening her grip. Otherwise her hand would pocket the candy if he did not accept it back. With the discussion of Warmonger’s Arena, the kitsune’s ears twitched a bit. The infamous arena where many fought for their life was a trial and as Saturn pointed out, a place for the weak to die. She herself was fearful of the potential concern of being slammed into the arena and what it would mean for her if she found herself in that situation. Many who came out were known in Kumogakure as it turned out that Saturn was one who went in and made it out, though unsure if the arm was a byproduct of that, Hikari felt best not to press unless he offered. “Saturn-san is correct in his analysis of the arena’s function. Considering the number of individuals who have their names recorded down as victors from the combats, many likely are not the names of those who have made it far within Kumogakure.” Hikari added in agreement to Saturn’s assessment, “Which is likely why Saturn-san first ended up there. Though he proved otherwise, it is still a commendable feat to be able to make it out.” She added in conjunction with her earlier statement.

With the conversation turning a bit, Hikari navigated it back to the original reason they had made it to this section of the Library of Thunderpeak Campus, a book. Before continuing that investiture of energy, Hikari kept their attention on Saturn looking upward at him, “A proper introduction on my part is in order. My name is Hikari Kobayashi. Currently enrolled in the Academy, avid book reader and resident purveyor of long-term academia.” She added in before turning to Jun, “With that notated, the book you are seeking should actually be right behind your friend.” She stated waiting to see what was to come next from the Kumon genin duo.

WC: 600, TWC: 2,200

Jun was caught in the middle of a very awkward situation: on one side, Saturn was just being Saturn, running his mouth beyond any reasonable boundaries and calling the Fox shinobi a familiar, over and over again. On the other side, the mysterious academy student who was quite a reserved person, but she seemed as she would blast at Saturn at any moment. The young Shibasaki clansman, without any clue on how to defuse the situation, tried to subtly glance at Saturn, hoping that he would notice. It took a while and some disrespectful behavior, but it finally seemed like he realized that the Fox girl was NOT Jun’s familiar. “For a man who can read minds, he really sucks at reading the room…” thought Jun.

Hikari took a deep breath and recomposed herself, and even with Saturn throwing candy at her., regained her calm and even attempted to handle the candy back. “Her serlf control is out of this world, she’ll make a fine shinobi…”. Even if she visibly wanted to smack Saturn’s face, she actually agreed with him regarding the Warmonger’s Arena. “A place for the weak to die…” this sentence stuck into’s Jun’s head, repeating itself over and over again, and giving the young Genin some new perspective. He was so obsessed about the feared Warmonger’s Arena and internally hyped it so much, that the outcome of his victory there was very frustrating. He hoped to face a real challenge, and ended up facing a weak ass genjutsu specialist thief, who gave up on his life at the very first sign of danger.

Perhaps they were right, and the Warmonge’r Arena just existed to separate the weak from the strong, not to actually give the Kumon shinobi a real challenge. Perhaps it was not the pinnacle of shinobi combat, perhaps the rush and adrenaline of a fight with lifes at the line actually did exist out there in the shinobi world. The very same world that Jun traveled around as a refugee when he was child, but that he actually knew nothing about. Perhaps there were some ninja at Fire Country or Wind or Haven or even perhaps at the Hot Springs that could actually give Jun what he was looking for: a real fight.  

After this little epiphany Jun had, his mind returned to the room as the fox girl introduced herself once again, to Saturn now, as Hikari Kobayashi, an academy student. “Kobayashi… but you’ve said before about being from the Kitsune clan actually… and I’ve never heard of such clan… pardon my curiosity, but where does your… unique feats come from? Is that a bloodline thing? You mentioned before something about recent development that led to some . . . changes in your heritage… mind to update a guy that spent the last few months exiled in the mountains?” he asked Hikari, trying to learn a bit more about her.  

Before she could answer, she pointed that the book that Jun was looking for was just behind Saturn. “Oh yeah, the book… right, I’ll get it, I really needed it, sooo important…” said Jun with some awkwardness in his voice, as he used the need for some books as a way to interact with the mysterious fox girl.

“Would you mind grabbing it for me right behind you, old friend?” he now asked Saturn, with a big half-hearted smile in his face, hoping that the jashinist would once again read the situation poorly and wouldn’t realize about Jun’s plot to learn more about Hikari.

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WC: 590
TWC: 1780