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1Forged in the Sand [Private|Keiko] Empty Forged in the Sand [Private|Keiko] Mon Jun 06, 2016 8:10 pm

Seiryū

Seiryū


D-rank
BECAUSE IT PROBABLY NEEDS IT:



636|636 Total



Last edited by Seiryū on Tue Jun 07, 2016 8:58 pm; edited 2 times in total

2Forged in the Sand [Private|Keiko] Empty Re: Forged in the Sand [Private|Keiko] Mon Jun 06, 2016 11:39 pm

Keiko

Keiko


D-rank
Oops.:




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Last edited by Keiko on Tue Jun 07, 2016 8:56 pm; edited 1 time in total

3Forged in the Sand [Private|Keiko] Empty Re: Forged in the Sand [Private|Keiko] Tue Jun 07, 2016 1:42 am

Seiryū

Seiryū


D-rank
Same as post 1:



843|1479 Total



Last edited by Seiryū on Tue Jun 07, 2016 8:59 pm; edited 2 times in total

4Forged in the Sand [Private|Keiko] Empty Re: Forged in the Sand [Private|Keiko] Tue Jun 07, 2016 11:35 am

Keiko

Keiko


D-rank
nope.:




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Last edited by Keiko on Tue Jun 07, 2016 8:57 pm; edited 1 time in total

5Forged in the Sand [Private|Keiko] Empty Re: Forged in the Sand [Private|Keiko] Tue Jun 07, 2016 8:45 pm

Seiryū

Seiryū


D-rank
Read above:



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6Forged in the Sand [Private|Keiko] Empty Re: Forged in the Sand [Private|Keiko] Tue Jun 07, 2016 10:49 pm

Keiko

Keiko


D-rank
Spoiler:

By this time, Seiryū was likely done as well, but before she could ask him where they were going to eat, a small knock on the door could be heard. Eyebrows knitting, Keiko couldn’t imagine who would be knocking at her door – she never had visitors, and the owner would be accustomed to Keiko being out at this hour of day. Moving towards the door, her wariness increased as the knocking sequence repeated again, three slow, ominous knocks. Opening the door, she found herself facing a middle-aged man dressed in what appeared to be relatively casual wear, but in his hands was a rolled-up scroll, bearing a small Kirigakure symbol. Keiko’s breath caught – again? This time, a messenger? She had spent the past two weeks ignoring messages sent by various methods – birds, letters, summons – but none of them had really indicated urgency. Simply messages asking about her status whatnot – all of which she had ignored.

Realizing that Seiryū was still within hearing distance, Keiko smiled at the man. “Yes? How may I help you?” At that, the man opened the scroll, displaying a message briefly for Keiko’s eyes only. Scanning the message, Keiko’s expression darkened. “I think you have the wrong person, try the next door.” She would say, closing the door and turning back to Seiryū, trying to hide the dread in her eyes. They wanted her back. To leave Sunagakure and return to Kirigakure. Although two weeks ago she would have given anything to have an excuse to return and get herself out of her self-made ideal of training in the desert of Sunagakure, now she didn’t want to leave at all. She had found a reason to stay, and the reason stood right before her, hopefully oblivious to what had just occurred. “So, where are we going to eat?”




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7Forged in the Sand [Private|Keiko] Empty Re: Forged in the Sand [Private|Keiko] Tue Jun 07, 2016 11:56 pm

Seiryū

Seiryū


D-rank
Just in case:

While he wasn’t uncomfortable redressing himself in his clothes from the previous night, the smell of alcohol still lingered on them and his person – the only real remedy to that would be to wash them and himself. Knowing that either taking a shower or getting new clothes for himself would deviate them from their current task of attaining breakfast, Seiryū would settle for postponing a shower till a later date. Hearing the sound of knock lightly echo from the front door, Seiryū only glanced in Keiko’s direction to see her leave her bedroom and depart to answer the door. Hopefully it wouldn’t take too and they’d be able to get breakfast, with only a few more minutes added on to the clock.

Letting Keiko answer the door alone, for there was no reason for Seiryū to be present, he made his way to the bathroom where he could properly fix himself up, now that he was fully clothed, shoes and all. He hoped Keiko didn’t mind him using her washroom, but saw no harm in the action, for his eyes were more trained on himself rather than whatever objects Keiko may have laying around. His hair, as promised, was quite the mess; a result of sleeping and Keiko’s hands running through them constantly. Turning on the tap, Seiryū wet both his hands lightly, letting the tap run as he went about combing his hair back with his hands. Every couple of seconds, Seiryū would rewet his hands and continue fixing it up until it was semi-presentable. In the end, it wouldn’t be ideal, as it would frizz lightly and stray out of place. Currently, it looked fine with a few hairs out of place, but other than that it was acceptable.

When he walked in to the living room, his eyes quickly took in the furnishings he could see now, that had been obscured by the darkness of last night when he and Keiko had entered. While it was his first time seeing the place, he was more than satisfied being able to watch the sole resident of this place. Seiryū’s eyes slowly travelled to the tenant herself, watching Keiko and taking in her legs that were accentuated by her black miniskirt. His eyes roamed up and down her legs as she was still at the door, only being to make out a select few words. When all was said and done, he noticed the grim expression she wore. The desire to ask what was wrong came up, but the voice never followed it. For all he knew, Keiko could have received news of a family member passing away – he didn’t even know if she had a family or not. He really wished to avoid bring up a subject matter that Keiko wanted to avoid, thus he opted not to question it and instead answered Keiko’s question of, “So, where are we going to eat?”

“How about some coffee and sandwiches at Tenhouten?” He supplied, more of a question asking for confirmation rather than a statement. Regardless of what was happening with Keiko or where they would be going, Seiryū would stick by her side, whether it was to lock the door or their walk to Tenhouten. The walk to the place wouldn’t be longer than ten minutes, depending on how long they too to get there and if any distractions popped up along the way.



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8Forged in the Sand [Private|Keiko] Empty Re: Forged in the Sand [Private|Keiko] Wed Jun 08, 2016 1:21 am

Keiko

Keiko


D-rank
He had fixed up his hair. Eyeing the casually styled hair, her fingers itched to run through them again, perhaps to give it her personal touch. Her hair was likely a mess too, and as she asked him about their choice of food for the morning, she wandered into the washroom to grab her brush. Hand hovering over her head with her brush in hand, she froze, staring at her reflection in the mirror. Shit. She had terrible after-sex hair. Not that it really was that bad, but messy enough to be way out of her comfort zone, leaving her quite mortified, to say the least. Maybe Seiryū was just courteous enough not to draw attention to it. Quickly pulling the brush through her hair, roughly powering through the knots, she was eventually satified with what she had, and grabbed at some hairties laying on the counter, pulling her hair into a messy, half-up bun, which she then pulled at to loosen it, allowing the rest of her hair to flow freely down her shoulders.

To be honest, she could really use a shower. Her eyes drifted longingly at her shower. It would be nice to run her body down with some cold water – something she usually did before heading out into the heat, as it helped her body retain some of its lower temperature. But it wasn’t ideal to keep Seiryū waiting, and given how loud her stomach was being, she was likely going to be more cranky without food than without a shower. The hungrier she was, the more her head pounded. It felt like it was being compressed, a steady pressure that caused immense discomfort. Food. She needed food, and possibly tea. Lots of tea.

“How about some coffee and sandwiches at Tenhouten?” He called out a suggestion, and Keiko was quick to agree. There were several Tenhoutens scattered across the village, particularly in its busier areas, and she would often frequent them if she couldn’t find anything to eat or drink. Grabbing at her purse from last night, she would walk with Seiryū out of the apartment, heading off to the nearest Tenhouten – which, thankfully, she was familiar with as well. As they walked, Keiko strolled awkwardly to the left of Seiryū, unsure of how she should behave. Could she grab his arm? His hand? What would he think? Or react? All this was very new, and very strange. Since when did Kitahara Keiko worry about such trivial matters? The answer was simple. Since she met this man, and couldn’t stop thinking about him. After a couple mintues of hesitation, she would timidly brush her little finger against his, trying to gauge his reaction from that simple touch. Maybe he would react positiviely, prompting her to take his hand. Or, if he chose to ignore it or pull his hand away, she would simply allow her hand to swing back to her side, pretending it never happened.

By then, Tenhouten would be visible a couple blocks down, relatively busy as it was nearing the usual lunch time for people. Unbeknownst to the two as a result of the darker tinted windows, the troublesome neighbour was sitting in there drinking his usual order of a black coffee, and staring out the window. Having caught sight of them, his expression had darkened. He had spent the night wishing he could have done more, and it looked like his chance had presented itself. As they neared, Keiko was practically skipping at the smell of food, hangover temporarily forgotten at the prospect of getting some food into her system. As a lover of food, she was prone to ill-temper when without food, but given the circumstances thus far, she really had little to be upset about. With the exception of that messenger arriving at her doorstep, but she had decided that it would be something she would deal with later. “Since you said coffee and sandwiches … I assume you’re a coffee drinker?” Keiko would turn to say to Seiryū, seeking confirmation. But as she did, there was a grip on her wrist, strong enough to almost be painful. Instinctively trying to pull her arm away, Keiko turned to see Souma standing beside her, having moved undetected through the large crowd lining up to order. “What –“

“Good morning, Keiko-san.” It was the same greeting that he gave her every morning he had managed to catch her before she left, which was more frequent, now that he had a general idea of her schedule. Keiko paid little attention to this detail, not realizing that Souma kept track of everything as best he could – the times she left, when she usually returned, where she was headed, based on her attire for the day. To someone who didn’t socialize too frequently with people, Keiko had never suspected anything was out of the ordinary, figuring that her neighbour just happened to be the friendly type that she tended to avoid. He kept his eyes on Keiko, blatantly ignoring Seiryū presence.




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9Forged in the Sand [Private|Keiko] Empty Re: Forged in the Sand [Private|Keiko] Wed Jun 08, 2016 2:58 am

Seiryū

Seiryū


D-rank
He waited patiently for the few seconds it took Keiko to fix up her hair. Though while Seiryū enjoyed knowing that he was the source of creating Keiko’s current style of hair, he couldn’t blame her for retreating to the bathroom to fix it up – even if she hadn’t spoken it aloud. He idly wondered what it would be like to have this happen on a daily basis, being around someone from the moment he woke up and having someone who was by his side when he would be going to bed. Silently, Seiryū knew it was near impossible, given that currently he could only picture such a scenario with Keiko, especially with their newfound… relationship?... being relatively new to him. What were they even? Aside from having shared last night and the early morning today together, there wasn’t a specific label that Seiryū could put on their relationship. They met on four separate occasions, today could be counted as a fifth, but they hadn’t separated since they met one another the previous night.

Leaning against the wall near the only exit and entrance to her apartment, Seiryū began to wonder what it was she actually thought of him. Sure he could confirm that she was attracted to him physically, but beyond that remained a mystery that he really didn’t wish to explore. The uncertainty that dwelled inside him that told Seiryū that Keiko would eventually leave and never see him again was also a reality. There was no doubt about it, given that their allegiances stood with two very different countries. Though their respective villages weren’t at war with one another, Seiryū knew that relations between Sunagakure no Sato and Kirigakure no Sato were never the best, in fact one could easily describe them as being tense. Regardless of village affairs, both their homes were in completely different places. Keiko likely had people in Kirigakure no Sato to return to – friends, family, perhaps an actual romantic prospect. Suna, while he didn’t have close ties to many people, was still his home. He didn’t want to dwell on it much more, but considering he had time until Keiko was finished with her hair, it was the only thing that remained on his mind.

Seiryū knew their time together would likely be short, maybe even shorter given the grim expression Keiko had after she had answered the door. Whatever it was, he hoped it wasn’t as bad as he initially assumed.

Once Keiko had returned and agreed to his suggestion of grabbing breakfast at Tenhouten, Seiryū partially led the way, though kept to Keiko’s side through their entire journey. Leaving his sleeves rolled up once more, like he had when he left last night, Seiryū felt the warm arm breeze against his forearms as they continued on their way Tenhouten. He was used to walking with people, yet never in the scenario where he had been really intimate with someone and spent the following morning with them. All this was new to Seiryū, foreign. The moment Keiko’s delicate finger brushed against his left hand’s little finger, he easily slipped his hand around and took hold of hers, interlacing his fingers with hers; gentle and firm. He lightly tugged her to his side, giving her the indication that he wished her to be closer to him. Shooting a light smile at Keiko, he was at ease walking with her in relative silence, a comfortable silence between himself and Keiko. He couldn’t recall the last time he was this comfortable around another person, of how much he often thought about another person with feelings that… he couldn’t exactly describe. They were warm, constantly making his mind wander over to her over the past week. Whatever it was he was feeling, he didn’t want to discard it, though it would likely be a pain once she’d be gone from Suna.

It seemed that Keiko’s mood had transparently improved the moment they neared Tenhouten, likely the smell of coffee and baked goods radiating from the shop. “Since you said coffee and sandwiches … I assume you’re a coffee drinker?” As she said those words, Seiryū saw a somewhat familiar face begin darting in their direction. He couldn’t exactly recall where he had seen that face before, but it was one he had seen previously. Seiryū’s eyes narrowed in on the male who was approaching them, clearly older than Seiryū from appearances alone. Yet, for the life of him, Seiryū couldn’t recall the male at all. It seemed the man zeroed in on Keiko, instantly taking a grab of her wrist. Seiryū didn’t immediately step in the man’s way, replaying the event of last night where Keiko was confronted by another male and Seiryū had intervened on her behalf.

“Good morning, Keiko-san.” Ah, that voice was familiar. Seiryū could now put a voice to the face and that connection had given Seiryū all he needed to know whom the male was. Replaying the memory of essentially telling the stranger that Keiko chose him last night, Seiryū’s mind rattled through the various ways he could get on the man’s nerves. He knew what the man was after, though Seiryū had a feeling from the look the man shot at Keiko constantly, which is wasn’t as friendly as one would assume. Of course, Seiryū was basing that conclusion mainly off intuition alone.

Letting go of Keiko’s hand to step to her side, wrapping his arm around her, resting on her waist, his eyes remained trained on the unnamed neighbour. “Ah, Keiko, this is your neighbour, correct? The one we met in the hallway last night?” Seiryū lacked any and all equipment that a shinobi carried around with him and could easily pass for being a civilian given how he was currently dressed. His scars told another story, but all were covered with the clothes he wore. His eyes shot to the offending hand that grabbed Keiko’s wrist before travelling back to the man himself. Seiryū wouldn’t immediately make a move to remove the man’s hand from Keiko, rather giving her neighbour the opportunity to escape this situation unscathed. Letting his purple orbs travel back to the man, holding the promise of causing should the man continues his actions, Seiryū spoke up once more; calm, but not holding back the harshness of his voice. “I believe the proper way to greet someone is to shake their hand… not grab their wrist.”

Looking back at Keiko, he would provide her with a light smile. “I wouldn’t ask you out to coffee if I hated it. And all things considered, you could use some too.” He winked at her, making sure that Keiko’s neighbour would be able to see it, should he be paying attention.



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10Forged in the Sand [Private|Keiko] Empty Re: Forged in the Sand [Private|Keiko] Wed Jun 08, 2016 3:15 pm

Keiko

Keiko


D-rank
He responded almost instantly, without hesitation, taking her hand into his like it was the most natural thing to do. Trying hard – but failing – to suppress a smile, she allowed herself to be pulled closer to him, fingers intertwined with his. Her heartbeat quickened, an irregular skipping beat that betrayed her emotions. There were no words exchanged as they walked towards Tenhouten, but the air around them was empty of any awkwardness, just comfortable silence. As far as Keiko was concerned, there was no expectation, or need to talk or force out a conversation. That was something she appreciated. There were always times where she craved company, but most of the time, whoever ended up being her company felt the need to do or say something. Human beings were said to be social creatures … but Keiko just didn’t quite understand that. Did being social have to mean verbal interactions? Heavy expectations to say or do something at every moment? Maybe that was what made her seem so distant to people – snobbish, even. Because she often refused to meet that expectation to carry conversations that didn’t have much meaning.

Speaking of company, there was an unwanted presence right now, and Keiko was beginning to tire of it. While Seiryū’s movement to put his arm around her waist was a display that she enjoyed, the hand on her wrist was still there, locking her in a undesirable hold. “Ah, Keiko, this is your neighbour, correct? The one we met in the hallway last night?” Right. He was there last night too … but the details for her were hazy. She remembered giggling about being seen, but couldn’t remember much of the exchange between Seiryū and Souma. Judging by what Seiryū was saying, it seemed he remembered details a bit more. “Did we meet him? I was a bit too … distracted to notice.” She would answered semi-truthfully, her answer making Souma flush red at the implication. Souma appeared to be dressed ready for combat, likely heading off to do a mission, his Sunagakure head protector tied around his right arm. To some extent, Keiko was aware that her neighbour was also a shinobi, but not one of high ranking, as far as she was concerned, given the stories he tried telling her from time to time about the missions he’s taken on.

“I believe the proper way to greet someone is to shake their hand… not grab their wrist.” Souma would shoot a glare at Seiryū, finally looking at him long enough to ensure that a dirty look was sent to the white-haired man. But as he looked back towards Keiko, the kunoichi would be staring pointedly at his hand on her wrist, prompting him to release and drop his hand to his side. The gaze Keiko had for him was cold, channelling a hostile look that she had become so good at over the years, lacking in sympathy and warmth. “I wouldn’t ask you out to coffee if I hated it. And all things considered, you could use some too.” Keiko would miss the initial smile that Seiryū gave her, but as she processed his words, she’d turn back towards him just in time to see his wink. The sides of her mouth twitched – she was obviously holding back a smile.

Souma wasn’t done yet. There was no way he was going to let this go easily. “Keiko-san, please. I know you’re not from here, this guy here is probably taking advantage of that. You should be careful, stop hanging around him. Are you hungry? I can get you breakfast.” His words were addressed to Keiko once more, still refusing to directly speak to Seiryū. Instead, he chose to plead with Keiko, who couldn’t understand what was going on. His words were desperate, genuinely so, but why? And Keiko hated being told what to do, which was exactly what she was hearing right now. The kunoichi was either generally oblivious to any guys that tried to pursue her, or very hostile towards those who made their intentions clear. This happened to be a case of the former – as far as she had been concerned, since moving into the apartment and meeting the person she shared a floor with, they hadn’t even conversed enough to be considered friends.

“Your concern is unnecessary, I’m quite capable of making my own decisions.” Her reply was curt, as was her actions, turning away to reach the counter, where she would proceed to place her order. A small sandwich and a cup of warm tea was exactly what she needed. “Sei-kun, what did you want?” She’d call over her shoulder, dropping the latter half of his name on a whim. A pained and frustrated expression crossed over Souma’s face, and he moved towards to follow her, determined to speak with Keiko once more. Should he make it, he would make to grab at her arm again, an aggressive stance that contradicted everything he was trying to tell her.




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Last edited by Keiko on Wed Jun 08, 2016 5:23 pm; edited 1 time in total

11Forged in the Sand [Private|Keiko] Empty Re: Forged in the Sand [Private|Keiko] Wed Jun 08, 2016 5:22 pm

Seiryū

Seiryū


D-rank
Seiryū’s grin only seemed to widen as he heard Keiko’s reply to her neighbour having run in to them the previous night. Whomever Keiko’s neighbour was should have already known what they were up to last night and the words she just said cemented that fact for her neighbour, who Seiryū assumed had a thing for Keiko. Noting that the male’s face turned red from hearing the implications of what they had done was more than enough for Seiryū to fully confirm what the man supposedly felt towards Keiko. Seiryū didn’t have the knowledge of whether her neighbours intentions were actually good or not, but his mannerisms certainly didn’t help in that matter. Last night her neighbour’s actions were forgettable, seemingly because of Seiryū having been far more distracted by someone else. Now, however, the grip the man had on Keiko’s wrist was not in the realm of friendliness, rather it bordered a line that Seiryū would never cross.

His own comment about properly greeting someone was met with a glare, one that Seiryū would easily return as well. Seiryū’s scowl was far less than friendly, promising that this wouldn’t end well if this charade didn’t end soon. Not having the time to properly know her neighbour, nor did Seiryū really have the desire to learn more about him, his opinion was vastly negative, though mainly indifferent towards the older male. Considering the opposition was dressed for combat in comparison to Seiryū wearing last night’s clothes, he hoped this didn’t devolve in to a physical encounter – though one had already been start the moment he had grabbed her wrist. His purple orbs remained trained on the other male, who had turned his attention to Keiko. Sparing a slight glance towards Keiko told him that she wished for her neighbour to go of her, which he promptly did so.

“Keiko-san, please. I know you’re not from here, this guy here is probably taking advantage of that. You should be careful, stop hanging around him. Are you hungry? I can get you breakfast.” Seiryū’s only visible response was to lift an eyebrow, curious as to how the man had reached the conclusion he had spouted off. The desperation that radiated off the man, both from his person and his voice, was quite a site to watch. Seiryū only found it slightly off-putting he was find joy in this situation, but considering he was already labeled as a ‘player’ to her neighbour, Seiryū would take whatever humour he could out of the scenario. If only the stranger could stop and think about his words, Seiryū really wouldn’t have the oncoming headache that seemed to be rising. With a curious glance at Keiko to gauge her reaction to whatever it was that was said about him, he wondered if she would believe her neighbours words or trusted him enough based off their past few encounters.

“Your concern is unnecessary, I’m quite capable of making my own decisions.” Seiryū’s only reply was to look back and forth between Keiko and her neighbour, seeing as how her neighbour was ignoring him however much he could. It was comical to see the look of dejection that came across the male’s face, only slightly feeling bad for him. Keiko’s neighbour had dug his own grave when it came to Seiryū’s opinion of him and while he was always up for giving people a second chance, it seemed as if her neighbour wouldn’t ever take that opportunity. Just from the two interactions that Seiryū had seen of her neighbour, he already knew that he likely wouldn’t get along with him. It wasn’t the end of the world nor did it really matter. “Sei-kun, what did you want?” He registered her even shortened version of his name, a slight perplexed expression taking over as he forgot where he was for the moment. Oh, right. They were here to grab their late breakfast – he didn’t mind grabbing a late meal, especially when he recalled the events of his early morning today. His eyes quickly darted to the menu hanging overhead the register, quickly analyzing it, even if he knew most of the items on it by heart.

“Ah, I’ll have a large coffee and a tuna sandwich.” He replied. Seiryū was about to reach for his wallet to fish out some ryo to pay for them, it was the least he could do, seeing as how he was the cause of their current, constant intruder, but it was then that he noticed the man who couldn’t get a clue making his way towards Keiko once more. Deciding he’d settle this matter one way or another; be it words or physical, Seiryū stepped in the way of the man’s path, essentially blocking him from reaching Keiko. Her neighbour hadn’t stopped and walked square in to Seiryū’s shoulder, as the white-haired male only looked over his shoulder to shoot a smouldering glare. “I will only say this once. Leave.” Whether he wanted the man to leave the building or Keiko alone was up for interpretation. Seiryū solely wanted to get his breakfast and enjoy it with Keiko before the rest of the day rolled around. He wasn’t sure where they’d part, but he didn’t want it to be too soon – though it would eventually occur. Seiryū was prepared for any physical transgression, though he would turn his attention to Keiko again. Getting his wallet out, he put down enough ryo to cover their meal. “My treat.”



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12Forged in the Sand [Private|Keiko] Empty Re: Forged in the Sand [Private|Keiko] Wed Jun 08, 2016 11:09 pm

Keiko

Keiko


D-rank
How could she turn her back on him like that? For a stranger, of all things. Souma couldn’t understand – frankly, he didn’t want to understand. As far as he could remember, he was drawn to the woman with the bright magenta hair from the first day he had seen her, when their landlady had took Keiko on a tour of the room. At the time, he was watched from the hallway, feeling as though he was miles away, and could do nothing but watch from afar. She was a difficult person to approach, he learned that very quickly. It took nearly two weeks for him to greet her, and even then, she hadn’t responded with anything but a nod of acknowledgement. Now, they had progressed to small conversations. It didn’t matter if she didn’t say much, the fact that she spared time to listen to him talk was enough. From what he learned through the past two months, she didn’t have many friends, and often left and came home alone. So whoever this man opposing him was … it was probably a stranger she had just met. And the fact that she was choosing this stranger over him was unacceptable.

Keiko, as she placed Seiryū order to the cashier who seemed much more interested to seeing what was going on, was quite aware that Souma was still coming after her. But she wouldn’t react until he touched her – planning a new, ice-cold surprise should his hand touch her skin again. But it never came. Instead, she felt Seiryū brush against her as he moved between Keiko and Souma. “I will only say this once. Leave.” Hiding a smile, grateful that she had her back turned to them, Keiko would reach into her bag for her wallet, figuring that Souma would leave by now. They were beginning to attract some attention now, and it was getting pretty weird to be stared and whispered about. Before she could fish out money to cover the small cost of breakfast, Seiryū had leaned over her and deposited money on the counter. “My treat.” Keiko let out a noise of protest – she was certain that he had paid for the previous night’s drinks as well, given how she had no memory of leaving the restaurant. And that wouldn’t have been cheap, considering how much they had drank in total.

At this time, Souma was seething. This stranger was getting in the way of everything, and he wasn’t going to back down. “It’s not me that needs to leave.” The words came out like a gutteral growl, anger at boiling point. His left arm reaching to grab at Seiryū’s right shoulder, he would try to spin Seiryū around to face him, right arm swinging up in a fist to punch him across the face. As some of the spectators made noises of shock, Keiko turned to see what was going on, but at the same time, she spotted her tea on the side counter, newly completed. While watching what was going on, she began moving towards her tea, knowing that her chicken sandwich wouldn’t be too long after – her stomach came first, and she was certain that Seiryū would be able to handle himself, even though she was likely the cause of everything. Regardless of what happened, she would then call out, “Sei-kun, your tuna sandwich is done.”




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13Forged in the Sand [Private|Keiko] Empty Re: Forged in the Sand [Private|Keiko] Thu Jun 09, 2016 1:40 am

Seiryū

Seiryū


D-rank
“It’s not me that needs to leave.”

It seemed the idiot did not get the hint, much less get anything through his thick skull. Whomever Keiko’s neighbour may be, he seemed to lack common sense and respect entirely. The idiot failed to understand that Keiko wished to be with him, seeing as how they had enter Tenhouten’s together. He was also privy to the knowledge that Seiryū had spent the previous night with Keiko; she did want to spend it with him. Yet, the idiot seemingly failed to recognize when his presence was unwanted; last night was forgivable and unavoidable, today was unforgivable and easily avoidable. While Seiryū could admire his persistence, to a degree, his lack of perception made Seiryū question the man’s ability as a shinobi and as a human being in general. Regardless of whom Keiko’s neighbour was, it was simple, his presence wasn’t wanted or needed.

The resentment fuming from the other male was something Seiryū could overlook; ignoring voices was simple enough. Yet when Seiryū felt an hand yank at his right shoulder, trying to spin him, Seiryū instantly knew what was happening and easily let his body move in the other’s desired direction. He saw a flash of motion coming his way, a fist flying towards his face. Seiryū leaned backwards and slightly to his right, letting the man’s punch graze by his mane. Seiryū’s retaliation was nothing physical; only dodging a second blow that Keiko’s neighbour had tried to take at him. His feet remained in position, so that Seiryū wouldn’t step back towards the counter where Keiko was located. A third punch was thrown his way, this time Seiryū catching it, twisting the man’s arm as he ducked behind him, twisting it even more. Having someone in an arm lock, even if it was a shinobi, was something wished he could have avoided. With their audience, Seiryū really wished to get this over and done with and move on with the rest of his day, this really had gone on for far too long.

“Now, I’ll give you another chance to leave. Otherwise you’ll only have one arm for whatever mission you are going on. I don’t care if it compromises your mission. The moment I’ll let go of your arm, you’ll apologize to Keiko and then get on with your day, without bothering her again.”He waited for some form of confirmation, ignoring the audience – the line – that had turned to watch this confrontation. After another twist, Seiryū would let go of his arm, only a moment after Keiko had spoken up regarding his sandwich being ready. Shooting one last glare at the idiot, Seiryū would ignore him from this point forward, stepping up beside Keiko to grab both his coffee and sandwich. Should her neighbour apologize or not, Seiryū would gently nudge Keiko towards the outdoor seating they had available. Finding a table that was partially in the shade, Seiryū took the one seat that was out in the sun, allowing Keiko to take the one in the shade. “I apologize about… causing a scene. Probably should have taken you elsewhere to avoid having that take place.” Seiryū sighed out, not taking to his sandwich first, but taking a rather large sip of his coffee. He knew there wasn’t anything he should apologize about, but he felt he was at fault given how he knew what riled up her neighbour. He was privy to that knowledge because of his father’s bloodline.



600|5665 Total

14Forged in the Sand [Private|Keiko] Empty Re: Forged in the Sand [Private|Keiko] Thu Jun 09, 2016 3:06 pm

Keiko

Keiko


D-rank
There might have been some part of his mind that told him this scene he was causing would look bad. A whisper of his conscience, perhaps. But whether there was anything like that, he didn’t heed its warning, repeatedly throwing almost blind, careless punches at the source of all his anger. Each one of them dodged, which only made him even angrier. By the third punch, his fist finally connected with something other than thin air, but it was an unwanted resistance in the form of Seiryū’s hand, which had caught his fist. In one fluid motion, Souma was locked in a tight hold, arm painfully twisted behind his back. Gritting his teeth to not betray any sound of pain, his glare settled on the crowd, some of which were laughing, some shrinking away from the fight. In an attempt to free himself, he tried to struggle his way out, but any big movement seemed to do nothing but create more pain for himself. Should he turn this into an actual fight? The humiliation and anger within him goaded him to keep fighting as a shinobi would, moving away from throwing simple punches.

Keiko rolled her eyes, taking a sip from her tea as she waited for Seiryū to take care of the situation and retrieve his sandwich. It was such a bother to be caught in such a ridiculous public spectable, and she felt bad for pulling Seiryū into it. To think that her neighbour was a Sunagakure shinobi yet seemed to care nothing about his image. But it looked as though Seiryū had a good handle on the situation, and briefly, she noted that his speed and reaction time was quite formidable. Again, she found herself wondering his rank, the position he held in the ranks of Sunagakure's shinobi.

“Now, I’ll give you another chance to leave. Otherwise you’ll only have one arm for whatever mission you are going on. I don’t care if it compromises your mission. The moment I’ll let go of your arm, you’ll apologize to Keiko and then get on with your day, without bothering her again.” It wasn’t worth it. For now. Especially not with so many eyes watching. Finally allowing some reason to seep into him, Souma refused to answer, waiting until his arm was let go before leaving the establishment, letting the door slam behind him. He would have his revenge one day.

Keiko blinked, grabbing her grilled chicken sandwich and cup of tea as she headed towards the outdoor table Seiryū was guiding her towards. Gratefully sitting into the seat within the shade, she happily admired the sandwich, ready to dive right into it. “I apologize about… causing a scene. Probably should have taken you elsewhere to avoid having that take place.” As Seiryū spoke, she had already sunk her teeth into the sandwich, blissfully allowing the flavours to hit her system. Swallowing her first bite, she looked back up at Seiryū, shaking her head slightly. “You wouldn’t have known that he was here. In fact … neither of us would’ve known he would act like that.” Keiko would reply, thoughtfully taking another bite. She still couldn’t quite decipher the meaning behind Souma’s words and actions. Too hungry to say anything else, she made quick work of her sandwich, taking sips of her tea as she ate.

When they finished, Keiko would glance over at Seiryū, hoping to obtain some clue as to what he would do next. Was this the end of it? Breakfast, and then parting ways? “Did you have a schedule today? I didn’t even ask … and it’s past noon already. If you need to go, I’m fine on my own.” She would eventually ask, realizing that as a Sunagakure shinobi – at least, she assumed that’s what he was – he would likely be busy with missions and training, and likely didn’t have time to spend time with the likes of her. It could be seen as a nice enough gesture that they were eating a late breakfast together. Her words came out a polar opposite of what she wanted. No, she wasn’t going to be fine on her own. Not now. But it was unreasonable of her to want to monopolize his time and attention, especially given how she had already done for … so many hours. Please don’t be busy. Please don’t go. Just a little longer …




750 | 5306 Total

15Forged in the Sand [Private|Keiko] Empty Re: Forged in the Sand [Private|Keiko] Thu Jun 09, 2016 5:44 pm

Seiryū

Seiryū


D-rank
Seiryū could easily agree with what Keiko had said regarding her neighbours presence at Tenhouten’s and how neither of them would have known that he would have been there. Yet he still felt partially responsible for what had actually happened, seeing as how Seiryū knew what it was that seemed to get under the older male’s skin. He knew what that dark look meant, how the other male looked at Keiko. Seiryū didn’t exactly like the look that her neighbour shot her way. There were no particular reasons Seiryū hated that look, other than the fact he did not like it one bit. He couldn’t exactly define what his relationship with Keiko was, if it would even extend past this morning. There was still so little the Seiryū knew about the woman constantly present in his thoughts, yet the desire and need to stay around her hadn’t gone away since it first sprung up upon him.

Nodding in agreement to Keiko’s first half of her comment – of not knowing her neighbour would be there. The other half of the comment Seiryū couldn’t fully agree with, for he knew what it was the got her neighbour to act the way he had, having access to that knowledge from the previous night and how her neighbour had reacted to Seiryū’s intimacy with Keiko. Neighbour or not, Seiryū knew what the look had been for and it certainly wasn’t to protect Keiko from Seiryū’s advances. No, it had been due to jealousy and her neighbours desire to be where Seiryū had been the last night and this morning. While Seiryū wasn’t too familiar with other people, he knew what jealousy and desire looked like; the dark look her neighbour had clearly presented that. Not knowing if he would run in to her neighbour again or not – he barely knew if he’d be able to interact with Keiko past today – Seiryū could only hope that one of those two things would happen; the answer being the far more obvious one. From what he could gather from Keiko, she either knew how her neighbour felt about her and chose to ignore it entirely, or she was completely unaware about how he felt. Either way, he wasn’t going to bring about that subject.

He didn’t offer a reply, satisfied with the comfortable silence with Keiko while they their breakfast. Ever since they had departed from Keiko’s apartment in order to head over to Tenhouten, the silence had never been stifling, there was no pressure he felt to talk and make small conversation with Keiko. Finishing his coffee and sandwich, they sat in relative silence with one another, Seiryū wondering if this was it, where they would finally part ways with one another. He hoped not. “Did you have a schedule today? I didn’t even ask … and it’s past noon already. If you need to go, I’m fine on my own.” It was a relief to hear Keiko ask that question, as he figured she could have been busy with something else today. Just hearing her say that let him know that she was free for a while longer and he’d be more than glad to spend his own free time around Keiko.

With a smile that would reach his eyes, Seiryū would answer her query calmly, “I don’t have anything planned for today… so, I’m willing to put up with for a while longer.” He didn’t know exactly what they would do, but the desire to part ways simply wasn’t there. It hadn’t even been more than a week and he was already beginning to grow attached and used to Keiko’s presence. It still remained an odd thought, vastly different than how Seiryū normally was around people. Typically Seiryū would only spend time with people for a few days, never really getting close to them except for making brief conversations, yet everything regarding Keiko was so vastly different from his norm. For one, Seiryū wouldn’t have sought her out after their training sessions just three days ago, denying himself of the feelings she had drawn out of him with little to no effort; all being a result of her playful attitude. Seiryū’s norm revolved around him denying himself of the things people sought after, though his refusals were due to a variety of reasons; particularly the fact he didn’t feel he deserved such things in life. However, when he was around Keiko those thoughts had been thrown out the window and his wish to be around her more took over, thus resulting in his agreement to spend some more time with her today. Maybe, just maybe, he had been a little too hard on himself over the past few years, but it had always been something he felt he didn’t really deserve. Bearing in mind that Keiko would eventually be leaving Sunagakure no Sato, he could enjoy whatever time it was that he could spend with her.



- Exit Thread -
850|6515 Total


Leaning Senjutsu (+10% Word Count - Kōga Clan Drawback):
None -> D-Rank: 5500/5500 Words (1015 Words Left)
D-Rank -> C-Rank: 1015/6600 Words

16Forged in the Sand [Private|Keiko] Empty Re: Forged in the Sand [Private|Keiko] Thu Jun 09, 2016 8:00 pm

Keiko

Keiko


D-rank
-- Exit Thread --



5306 Total Words

Training
Speed A-2 -> A-3: 1300 words
Reaction Time A-0 -> A-3: 3450 words
Remaining words: 556

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