Klutz (Open, NK)

It was Saturday, finally.

More often than not, weekends meant a time of relaxation. She no longer had to deal with whining customers or troublesome superiors at her workplace. Instead, she was able to keep to herself, which is something she has rather enjoyed as of late. But for some reason, she could no longer think of anything to occupy herself with.

In the past, the girl would simply resort to exploring the village, taking in new faces and eating all different kinds of foods. However, she'd done that so many times already that she had to stop and wonder... what else was possibly left for her to discover? Just what had she left out, if anything? Such thoughts rang throughout her head as she remained in her apartment, lying down onto her sofa with a pillow offering her support. Perhaps she could merely visit a restaurant... but hasn't she seen all the ones Hoshigakure had to offer? Or maybe the bookstore was an option. Yes, she could always appreciate a good story.

In fact, why even pay for it?

Without a moment's hesitation, the raven rose up from her position on her couch, putting on her shoes and grabbing her keys before exiting her home. Thankfully, the weather was decent; the sky was clear and the sun was shining bright, offering warmth that she gladly welcomed to help balance the chilly breeze that traveled through the air. And it was a pleasant walk to the library as she took in her surroundings, never once being truly bored after seeing different types of people. If only she could approach them.

Immediately after reaching her destination, Aiko moved towards the civilian section, wanting to grab a fiction novel and drown herself in an imaginary plane. However, she noticed certain individuals with headbands, or some even without, walking in the opposite direction... towards the shinobi area... would she dare?

It was not as if the section was cut off to civilians (well, some places were of course, but not all), so it would be alright for her to satisfy her curiosity. Trying to act "smooth," the teen followed the ninja she had seen, watching them eventually disappear into different aisles as she finally approached a section geared for beginners. Letting her body dictate her actions, rather than her mind, she went to the closest book shelf, spotting an interesting tittle at the very top. The Basics of Chakra Control.

She was too short to reach, was the conclusion she came to after jumping to try and snatch the book. Pouting, Aiko quickly grabbed a stool placed off to the side, one most likely left out for others left in her predicament. Even while using the stool as a boost though, she was still unable to take the novel... but she was just a hair away. If only she could reach further...

Just a little more, she thought, sticking her tongue out in concentration, and completely ignoring her stool, which threatened to tip over at any moment.

[TL;DR - Aiko went to the library. Aiko found a book. Aiko tries reaching for the book. Someone help her before she falls off the stool she's using and ends up hurting herself, pls.]
[TWC: 504]

It was the middle of the day when sixteen year old, Hikari Namikaze, was taking a stroll. Over the last 7 weeks since the chestnut haired girl joined the ninja academy, and she already was looking forward to becoming a chunin. She felt like she was ready but the higher ups were still busy trying to figure out what to do with her. She wasn’t on a team, as such, they couldn’t just send her on a mission and just be done with it. So, the teenage girl would just have to hold her breath on whenever she would be allowed to attempt to do her rank up.

As such, Hikari was losing a desire to train, where she used to train all every day, she now found herself stopping her training earlier, not reading as long, and not going all out when she was training like she did before, it was just…. There was no light at the end of the tunnel right now. As such, Hikari decided that she was going to give herself the weekend off, it was the first time since she turned into a shinobi that she was giving herself the day off. As such, she wasn’t wearing her usual combat skirt, but a white sun dress.

Spoiler:

That being said, Hikari didn’t have much of a life. She Didn’t have many friends, she didn’t have a boyfriend, she no longer had any hobbies (Training used to be her hobby, back when she was a tavern girl, but now that this is her life, she didn’t really have a hobby anymore.) As such, she went to the one place that she felt like she could have some fun at, the Kozai Yuki National Archives. She didn’t really have anywhere else she could go to relax, so, Hikari felt like she could go there and pick up some friction novels, and just enjoy the day. As she entered the libraryThe young kunochi would look around for her favorate librarian in the world, Mrs. Sakamoto. He was the librarians 24 hour employee, as long as the library was open, he was on shift (Or at least that is what he led Hikari to believe and was what the young kunochi saw. She had never been here and didn’t see him.) The young girl didn’t see him where he usually was, behind one specific check out isle, he had made it into his desk and even had a card saying his name on it. Figuring he must be in the back, the young girl would make her way to the ninja studies section on pure reflex. She wasn’t planning to read anything there, but she was so used to being there, she just started to head there. As she turned the corner to the section of books that was ment for ninjutsu studies and similarly, she would look remember that she wasn’t here to study, but for her pleasure, and she would turn to walk away, but would look back. There was someone here! It was a teenage girl, similar to age and size to herself, and she standing on top of stool looking at the top of a book shelf for a book. Hikari would notice that the stool was about to fall over, so Hikari would run over to there and grab it, holding it steady for her, she would look up and whisper (They were in a library after all) “Hey, watch yourself! You need to be careful when standing on a stool to get books.”

Word count: 598

”No that’s just one of those children’s how to garden books.” Shouhei said calmly to himself as he looked through the agriculture and gardening section of Kozai Yuki National Archives. Or just that huge library located in Hoshi as some people would like to call it. In any event, Shouhei finally found a proper book on the subject of agriculture in the climate of Hoshi. Sure this was something he could just walk a stone throw out of the village and ask a farmer about. Which was something he had done, but the he had asked were the inheritors of the farms so they didn’t remember or know how their water systems were built, so Shouhei had to go this route and be all bookworm about it.

Tying a string around the book, Shouhei fastened it to his flak jacket. Yes, he was wearing that even on a weekend. It was after all, comfortable and easy to wear. Not to mention that it made it easy to fasten his headband to his left arm instead of his forehead. After fastening the book, he turned around his eyebrow raising as he saw something curious in the new ninjas for beginner’s section as he liked to call it. A girl about the age about the age of Hikari – who he could see nearby and he wanted to wave at but she probably couldn’t see him from there so why borther? – was trying to reach a book on one of the higher shelf by using a stool. However, she was being clumsy about it and was about to fall. Shouhei was somewhere half between of wanting to catch her if she fell down. However, he also had to admit she was a bit cute, so he figured that if he could catch her like how the groom carries the bridge into his house and say a cool line, things could get interesting from there on. Well, he could also get slapped but those who don’t dare won’t win at all so he shrugged and walked over to her.

There was a thing he hadn’t expected however that would ruin this plan of his. That a school of kindergarteners suddenly walked through the hallway being a bit loud – they were young kids after all – blocking the path he was too late to carry out his plan and Hikari got to her first. As the children passed and he got over to the two, he teasingly said. “This is the perfect moment to kiss her. You two look so romantic right now.” He waved. “Hi there Hikari.” His voice being just low enough not to catch any of the prying eyes of the librarians.

Then he unsealed his spear from one of his scrolls, Shouhei would place his foot on the side, and use it like an elevator to get to the shelf she was reaching for. If anyone looked up there would be nothing much to see. He was wearing pants and not shorts today. “I’m Shouhei this my unofficial student Hikari.” He absently introduced himself and the brunette he knew so very well. “So which book did you need?” he asked and would hand the ones she asked for.

Notes wrote:Word Count: 536.

It was sudden when her body jerked, forcing the novel in her sights to move slightly farther away, and Aiko had to stop and wonder, what could possibly cause that to happen? She clearly was not paying attention to her surroundings.

It wasn't until she heard someone's whisper that, out of surprise, her mouth formed the shape of an 'o'. She turned around to see a young girl, probably someone around her age, in an admittedly beautiful dress. Aiko already had a response ready, wanting to justify her act of... almost falling to reach the interesting book, but she froze. What was she supposed to say first? Was she required to speak at all? Taking in a deep breath, the raven looked off to the side, her lack of self confidence already rearing its ugly head. Why was this always so difficult for her?

"U-Uhm... Sorry..." she began, mentally encouraging herself as she pulled her hands to her sides and fidgeted with the hem of her red sweatshirt, "And thank you."

Her voice was soft and hesitant, as if she wasn't use to the mere act of speaking. Such a notion wasn't far off considering her more withdrawn nature. But while she could not bring herself to look at the (helpful) stranger, she remained in her spot on the stool, glancing back and forth between the book and the ground. It couldn't hurt to try...

"Can you reach it instead?" she asked the brunette, not completely set on the idea of asking for help, but knowing that she needed it. After all, this new girl was possibly a shinobi, right? Considering she was in that specific part of the library at all? Maybe she had some trick or something... anything a civilian like Aiko couldn't do.

However, another person had arrived mere seconds after she asked her question. His hair, in Aiko's opinion, was a peculiar sight. It looked fluffy and was orange, ultimately making her thoughts drift towards that of an orange kitten. That was all thrown out the window at his first comment. "What?!" she half-shouted, a large and dark blush violently appeared on her cheeks... before she swiftly covered her mouth, realizing the volume she had spoke at. Well, at least with how he addressed the brunette by name, Aiko could tell they were acquaintances, or friends.

She curiously looked on as he made a spear appear out of thin air (was this ninjutsu?), and was soon elevated to a height above her own. She gazed skeptically at him, his name being Shouhei apparently, still caught off guard by his teasing earlier. But she used the same courage she gathered from before to tell him which book she wanted, "The Basics of Chakra Control."

The minute it was placed in her hands, a childish grin overtook her pink lips, and she stared gratefully at the orange-haired boy. "Thanks," she quietly chirped before coming down from her place on the stool. However, she did not leave. In fact, she didn't do anything for a moment, simply wondering what she was to say next. Somewhat nervously, she settled on pointing to herself and giving her name.

"I'm Aiko," she said, cheeks still slightly tinted red, but only from introducing herself, "It's, um, nice to meet you both..." She managed to drift off, gazing at Shouhei's flak jacket in minor thought. She might as well ask, rather than make assumptions... no matter how right they could be. "Are the two of you ninja?" she asked, ignoring the rise in her body temperature from sheer anxiety.

[TWC: 1099]

Hikari would slightly blush, hereing what Shoushei had said, but she knew at this point that he was joking around. Hikari would respond, smiling and telling the raven haired girl, “Ignore him, he has a habit of doing stuff like that. Although the spear is new,” Hikari would listen to what the girl said about getting the book, The Basics of Chakra Control And would smile, responding with a “Sure! I would Love to get it for you! I know what it is like to not be able to get books from the top shelf, so I have been practicing a jutsu that can help me.” With that, Hikari would use a technique she had been using to get books off the self. She would at a speed of 100 form the handsigns Tiger – Hare – Dragon, and would raiser he hand and call out the Flower Scattering Dance Technique. Rather than using the technique at full power however, she would only use it at a power of 1 and would decrease the size so that it could be used for moving books around. The chestnut haired girl would raise her hand and let the small tornado come out of her hand (‘tornado,’ being a very strong word, it was more like a slightly strong wind at this power) and would rise up to where the dark haired girl had been reaching to and would use the wind to push all other books away from it by a few inches, (Sliding them further down the shelf) And would then get to work on wiggling to the left and right, trying to make sure the book stayed in the eye of the storm, so she wasn’t pushing it back. After wiggleing it a little, it would fall off the book case and Hikari would go over and catch it, before going over and handing it over to the young dark Haired girl.
“Ok, it is nice to meet you also Aiko!” The young maiden would respond in a wisper, giving her a warm smile. “Also, don’t worry about the nearly falling thing, I would do that a lot before I started on this technique.” Hikari would look at the book in her hands and think about why the Raven haired girl would be looking at this.

“Oh, Yes, we are ninjas. Both of us are genin, out of curiosity, are you? I haven’t seen you around before and you are reading about chakra… so, I was just curious.”

Word count: 427

Just as he was about to grab the book from the shelf, it felt off its space. Was weird, but Shouhei catched it none the less then he looked over his shoulder to see Hikari holding her hands like she had done a ninjutsu. He smiled at her thinking she had tried pulling off a prank, then handed the other girl the book she asked for.

She introduced herself, and well Shouhei didn’t need to wait on Hikari to do the same as he had already done it. He lowered the staff and by extension himself, the sealed it back into a scroll. As for the questions, he had this to say. “A very loose definition as one of my teachers like to say. Or a wasteful maggot, but she is also the type who likes to drill people until they get it right. In any event, I am a ninja yeah. A medical ninja to be specific. You can come to me if you ever get bruised or an arm cut off.” He gave her a thumbs up.

As for Hikari’s question he had to do some investigation himself, so he used his ability to detect chakra signatures and checked out the new girl.

“My guess is no.” He said, and he couldn’t help but smile as if Hikari had said something silly. “Are you trying to become one? You certainly got the looks to distract any male combatant or make girls want to fight you harder.” He followed up having a dorky smile on his face, and a slight blush. He couldn’t help it since she was pretty and less of a everyday girl than Hikari. Or her eyes at least made her like that.

Notes wrote:Word Count: 287.

"Wait, a jutsu?" she had whispered in response to Hikari's statement, placed into a state of slight awe. It was not everyday she could see an actual technique in action, the mere idea of it stirring a feeling of excitement within her. So, when she had felt a strange breeze pass by her, Aiko could say she knew the cause. That was definitely a useful skill (she wouldn't have to struggle with reaching for things anymore, if she had the ability to use it), but Shouhei had managed to catch the book before it fell. Either way, she still happened to receive her novel in the end, and was quite happy about that fact.

She had giggled once Hikari mentioned that she would often fall as well, relieved to know that others had the same problem when it came to height. To be completely honest, Aiko was jealous of those gifted with a tall stature; it wasn't fair. However, her mood soon did a quick 180. She blanched at the thought of losing an arm and needing medical attention. (But for all she knew, there perhaps could have been a way producing new arms. She would be worrying over nothing... not that losing an arm was something to wave off, no pun intended...)

"Oh, um..." the raven began, not expecting to be questioned on her choice of reading material. Thankfully, Shouhei had spoke up before she did, somewhat guessing her situation correctly. His added compliment though caused blood to rush towards her cheeks once again, this time forcing the tips of ears to become red as well, "M-my looks? W-well! I-I, um... y-you see... I d-don't know about... T-thank you?"

And so, she had devolved into a stammering mess.

After eventually clearing her throat, the girl took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself down, "I just wanted to peek over here... t-to get an idea of what actual shinobi are like by what they do, if that makes sense." Sheepishly, Aiko scratched the back of her neck, her brightly colored eyes shifting down to gaze at her feet, "I don't know if I'm cut out for becoming one myself..."

(Hopefully I didn't mess up the timeline for that beginning part, lol.)
[TWC: 1461]

The chestnut haired girl would listen to what teenage girl would say, she would respond with, “Well, it is kind of dangerous stuff, but it isn’t impossible. I grew up without a shinobi backround, like yourself (Hikari presumed this because she was 16 and wasn’t already a shinobi,) and I only joined the Academy a little bit under two months and I am already a Genin. At the same time, my parents weren’t that religious, and they didn’t grow up around here, so it wasn’t beat into me that shinobi were evil. They stopped me from becoming a shinobi, but at the same time, they didn’t want me to think they were evil, so I didn’t grow up with that mindset. As such, when I had the oppritunity, I became a shinobi, even if I was a bit older.” It felt weird saying ‘older’ The two girls were in their mid-teens, somewhere between 15-18, so they weren’t old at all. At the same time though some ninjas were made when they were less than 10 years old! So, it was something that should be mentioned.

Something was off though, it was rare that people around Hoshi wanted to learn about shinobi, after all, the church at Hoshi preached that shinobi were demons and evil. Of course, his wasn’t completely without base, they had a lot of problems with both governed shinobi and Missing nins also. But with all of that preaching, why would someone like Aiko want to look into them? Shouldn’t she be scared that she would be branded a heritic? (Hikari admits, this is kind of hypocritical of her, she was afterall, a shinobi herself, but she understood her reasoning, but why was Aiko looking into it?)

Hikari would look at Aiko and say, “Well, since we are here, do you have any questions for the two of us? Since we are shinobi and we might be able to help answer any questions, although as I said, I have only been at this for a few months, so I might not be the best, but would you mind if I asked you a question? It is kind of strange for a girl your age to be looking into this stuff, would you mind indulging us on why?”

Word count: 385

Claims: TWC 1410
Stats: 7
Jutsu: 2000/2000 Taijutsu- Block

Seeing the girl turn into a mess all he had to say was. “You’re welcome. I’ll try not turning you into pudding from now on.” Being honest, and his next words being a bit too honest and not befitting of the situation. “I like pudding though.” He said innocently. Then looked at the clock to see that he had to leave soon.

”To add what Hikari said. Yes, there are indeed classes for teenagers at the academy, but you of course have to take a test to see what grade you are on when it comes to reading, writing, mathematics, and so on.” He thought he would add as that was missing from her info dump. “Which makes it hard for less fortunate people, but what can one do?  It should also be noted that if you got less than a year’s program, you might have to study extra hard post hoc with your Jounin teacher to learn common strategies, and the specialized math we use to calculate a few battle related things. I don't know if you have had to do that Hikari, but I have heard of others.”

“As for how cut out you are for it.” Shouhei shrugged only half sure in his words. “You look healthy enough for me. Now all that is left is applying, and remember that he who doesn’t dare will never win.”

Now with Hikari’s question, he couldn’t help but performing a giggle snort as all he got was the innuendo in it. Like you never phrased it like that unless you were talking about adult interests. In any event, he recovered quickly and handed Aiko the business card of his uncle’s dry cleaning and shirts business. “In either events, if you chose to pursue this career I might be able to help you. I thought Hikari there all of the basics and a few more things, and if I know her right she is going to show her the fruit of our labor in a few. But alas, I have to leave to do a few errands for that place.”

He bowed to the two girls (three if Kanzaki didn’t have reasons to be shy), and greeted them farewell before getting the book registered to take home. “Have a good day you two.” He waved at them as he walked out of the door.

[Exit]

Notes wrote:Word Count: 393
Total Word Count: 1216
Stat Claim: 6 = 1200 / 2