Invite: Rakurai

Sluggishly and somewhat autonomous, Nariko's legs took one step after another as she followed Raku to the orphanage. The floor looked like it was trying to create a loop for her to walk on, until Raku mentioned something about a corner, upon which the street decided corner-shapes were a much better idea. For an optic illusion, it surely wasn't subtle but it make her walking even more awkward for some reason. Or maybe that was just in her mind? It was hard to tell.

A sudden waft of flowers almost suffocated her as she found it hard to take in 'fresh air', but despite the mushroom intoxication her body hadn't forgotten how to breathe just yet. New air and floral scent disappeared into her lungs, making her see several flower beds one after another. Or wait, no, those were actually real? It was hard to tell as the colours of the flowers blurred into each other and seemingly swayed at the rhythm of her breathing.

Then Raku halted and Nariko could see a close-up of his left shoulder even if she had the feeling she stood miles away from him. Then his shoulder distanced a little, and another mass approached, detaching itself from the flower blur. The body blur shaped itself in that of a woman, which introduced herself as 'Madame Selene' - a familiar name. If only her mind could remember where she had heard it. Nariko did shift her gaze to Raku, as if he had the answer to that, and then back to the Madame as she mumbled something about looking sickly.

'Well, excuse me for being tired.', she wanted to reply, but the words swirled into her mind and into the flower bed to water them. Nariko blinked, and felt herself being dragged inside the house. She somehow wasn't sure if she had to resist, but even if she wanted to she found herself already in a bed before she truly realised what was going on. And then... the whole world turned black as her body decided it was time to turn the lights out.

Who puts the lights on over days anyway?

As her eyes closed, her body reacted to the soft bed she laid on and plunged the whole system into a deep sleep. But somehow, her mind seemed to stay active. Swirls, mushrooms, red and white dots turned to red and yellow stripes to wash over rocky teeth. A giant tooth brush wanted to crush the buildings, but instead was brushing her hair. There was a vague mumbling of people around her, but the words were too indistinct to be understood and quickly drowned into a waterfall of city noises and forest screams of dead people in a pit. Stupid Mass Murderer. Stupid Forest. Where was she anyway? Not in Kiri. Not in Konoha.


wc 476

((Sleeping soundly.))

Madam Selene was quick to rush to the them as they got closer to the orphanage. Rakurai explained that he met the girl by running into her out at the market place, and that she looked like she needed help. Madam Selene help Raku escort the girl inside as it was clear she was in no real condition to walk further. As they entered the orphanage and got the girl in a bed, Madam Selene called for Andrea her assistant and told Raku to go get some warm water and rags while her and Andrea tended to the girl. When he returned to the room Andrea took the water and the rags before shutting the door keeping him from entering the room.

Raku had forgotten all about his hunger by this point, as he just paced back in forth in the hallway. It was then that he realized that he was so worried about a girl he had just met and he did not even know the girls name. The waiting was driving him insane, there were a couple of times that he pressed his ear to the door trying to hear what was happening on the other side of it but to no avail the wood of the door was just too thick for him to be able to hear anything. After what seemed like an hour Raku could not take it any longer and had to step outside to get some fresh air, the air was nice and felt cool on his face as he walked outside. It was a short time later that Madam Selene came outside and spoke to him, "the girl will live" she told him with a smile, "its a good thing you got her here when you did." Rakurai smiled at Madam Selene's words and went to go inside to see the girl, but he was quickly stopped by Madam Selene, "not just yet Raku, she is resting let her sleep for now and you can see her when she wakes" she spoke in the motherly tone that she often used on him when she wanted him to listen to her. 

After agreeing not to bother the girl, Raku heard the growl of his stomach remembering that he had yet to eat today now that the girl was take care of and was going to be ok he figured it would be good to get something to eat. Madam Selene obviously noticed his hunger as she immediately took him inside into the kitchen to get something to eat. As he ate Madam Selene asked more about the girl but Raku had no real answers so he just told her everything that had happened since he ran into the girl. Rakurai has never been a real patient person, he has always hated staying in one place for very long. Today was no different, he could not just sit around and wait for the girl to wake up. Madam Selene decided it would be for the best to take the other kids to the musuem, however Rakurai hated the museum and instead chose to stay at the orphanage and help Andrea with the chores. Subconsciously he thought to himself was he choosing to stay at the orphanage because he hated the museum, or was he choosing to stay close to the girl? As he helped Andrea cleaning up the kitchen as well as the rest of orphanage his mind kept thinking back to the girl that was asleep in the next room. This random girl that he just met and knows nothing about, and yet he can not stop himself from thinking about her and when she would wake. He had been in the backyard cleaning for almost two hours when he heard some noise coming from inside the house, causing him to stop what he was doing and run inside the housing hoping that the girl had woken up. However it was just Madam Selene and the kids that lives in the orphanage running around, Raku yelled at them for making so much noise inside when there was a guest resting in one of the rooms. He then cursed himself for yelling so loud, now he just hoped he had not disturbed the girl.

---

WC: 711

An unknown amount of time had passed before Nariko woke up in a stranger's bed. She yawned big as her eyes took in the scenery of a simple bedroom. An end table stood next to her with a bowl of water, and a chair not too far off positioned in such a way that it seemed someone had been sitting next to her. She felt a little feverish, a cold shiver running over her back, but the odd sensation she had felt before seemed to have subdued. Her hunger, however, hadn't. As she looked outside the window, she could see it was clear day. Noon, maybe, but she couldn't say for sure. At the end of her bed laid neatly folded clothes that she didn't recognise, but she expected them to be for her as she found herself wearing little else than her underwear and a shirt.

Deciding to step out of bed, her body seemed not to like that idea as its weakened state forced her to take it slowly. Nariko dressed herself, brushed her hair with a quality brush she found nearby, looking into the small hand mirror she had tucked in her ninja tools. In the meantime, she took at look at herself in the mirror, but sleep deprivation aside, she didn't really seem too bad. Perhaps a bit pale, but Nariko had never exactly been tanned to begin with. All dressed up, she opened the onlu door to the exit and looked straight into a broad hallway, leading to what she assumed to be other bedrooms. Following the walls to wherever they lead, Nariko moved to the next piece.

A large room easily rivalling the oversized dining room of her father revealed itself. Unlike the one of her father, this room didn't count one table but rows and rows of tables and seats as if it was expecting a mass of eaters. Nariko found it a curious thing to be, eyeing the quality of the chairs and tables and considering them to be rather lacklustre. But they'd serve their purpose, she guessed. At the other side of the large room the sun poured in, betraying the fact that this could be an exit toward the outside world.

The large room was filled with kids all over the place making one hell of a ruckus even if they didn't mean to, and there seemed to one or two people that kinda held the reigns? She couldn't tell, but one of them certainly was quite preoccupied with either reprimanding the children or giving them attention. Nariko felt as if she was supposed to know the woman, but nothing came to mind. The same went for a seemingly random boy in the middle of the bunch that had quite a serious frown on his face. Then, one of the brats spotted her, and soon the whole room was alarmed by her being out of bed, which was taken with various emotions - some scurried away, others seemed overly happy where others still seemed appalled by that idea. Nariko found it all a little overwhelming, especially when a bunch of kids ran up to her as if to touch and see if she was a real person, but right before they'd get all touchy-feely they got called back by someone who was named 'Madame Selene' and she was called forth for a healthy meal - hearing the name, she also remembered there had to be someone called 'Raku', though she still couldn't stick a face to it.

Nariko took a seat, taking a look at what must have been the most basic of meals she'd ever known, but hungry as she was she cared little for how it looked or what it was. Whatever it was, it had to be better than berries, roots and mushrooms for sure. As she picked up her fork to eat, the kids surrounded her as if they had never seen a girl eat before. The world of a child had to be marvellous. After a few hungry scoops of the meal, which tasted particularly good and was quite filling, Nariko halted for a brief moment and asked for Raku to sit next to her. If this person was one of the kids, she guessed he'd respond. If not, she'd blame it on the fever. Then, one of the kids asked a question. And then came another. And suddenly, a flood of questions rushed in as the bottled up curiosity could no longer be held back.

wc 764 + 476
= 1240

Rakurai noticed one of the other kids looking off to the corner of the rooms, raising his own gaze to see what it was that he was staring at just as the boy yell, "She's awake!" There staying in the doorway was the girl that he had brought to Madam Selene, and now that she was not covered in dirt she even looked as though she felt better. However it was hard to tell if she was still feeling nauseous or was just uncomfortable about waking up in an unknown place that was full of small children, not a single one of them other than Rakurai and the girl herself was over the age of ten.

As the girl entered the room over half of the kids ran outside more than likely out of fear since Rakurai had just yelled at them to be quite, while the other half rushed to the girl as though they had never seen a visitor. Madam Selene quickly took control of the situation and kept the little ones from mauling the poor girl, so that she could sit and get herself some food. Judging by the look on the girl's face when Andrea placed her famous "guess what I am made from porridge", which in his own opinion tasted like burnt meat slathered in gravy and overcooked vegetables. Rakurai thought for sure that the girl was going to refuse to eat it, although probably more politely than he did the first time he tried to eat it. To his surprise however the girl began eating without a single complaint about Andrea's terrible cooking, by this time the other kids had already swarmed around the girl gawking at her as she ate. Rakurai stayed back wondering what he would say to the girl, he did not even know if she even remembered meeting him.

As he stood there questioning himself on how he should approach the girl and what to say to her, that he heard the girl stopped ask for him to sit next her, ok so she did remember him that was a good sign he thought though he still did not even know her name. 'I guess I should just come out and ask her what her name is' he thought to himself. However before Rakurai could even get across the room to the girl all the other kids decided they had to play twenty questions with the girl themselves. The only problem was that they were asking a question and then without even giving her time to answer the first question began asking hundreds of others ones. Now if he asked her what her name was she would just think it was one of the annoying kid questions he thought to himself almost slamming his palm to his face. Madam Selene must of been able to tell that the girl was over whelmed by the swarming of the little piranhas as she quickly rounded them up and got them out of the room to give the girl some space, leaving Rakurai and the girl the only children in the room.

Rakurai approached the table where the girl was sitting, his mind racing a million miles a minute as he tried to thank of the best way to speak to her. Man is it hard to find the right words to say to someone when you try to make a friend he thought to himself as he sat on the other side of the table in front of the girl. "Sorry about all that" he said waving his arm in the direction of the other kids Madam Selene had ushered out of the room, "they don't see very many older kids around here other than me and the girls are always talking about them wanting an older sister." he added the last part with a little chuckle as if to say he was joking with her. Then there was a small pause as he thought of what to say next as well as to make sure he did not talk to fast to the girl considering he was not sure how recovered she really was. "I do not mean to sound rude, so I apologize if it comes out that way" he said in a somber voice pausing as if to gauge the girl's interest in what he was saying before he continued, "I never got your name"

---

WC: 741 + 711 = 1452

Halfway her meal and with most of her hunger subdued, Nariko's refined taste suddenly seemed to wake, realising how poor the quality of the meal really was. Running her tongue over the porridge in her mouth, the taste of cooked out meat touching the edges of downright being burned, carrots cooked until most of their taste had been lost, an uneven seasoning that clearly hinted at the lack of refined taste buds and a drab of dreary gravy on top of them turned the whole into a saddening cacophony of uneven tastes. Nariko felt almost sorry for the kids that had to eat this on a daily base.

She had little time to contemplate whether she should continue torturing her own palate or continue the filling dish for her stomach's sake as the kids threw in question after question. She wanted to answer a few of them, hoping they'd cease annoying her, but she couldn't decide on which one first. In the end, the throbbing in her head only worsened as an uneasy quietude escalated soon into a boom of voices. Luckily, the empathic mother hen that was Madame Selene made an end to this, leaving Nariko and Raku alone as she finished her meal. There seemed to be an uneasy silence for a moment as Raku searched for his words, and she searched for hers.

Raku then explained the reason of the kids' behaviour, upon she nodded emphatically. She remembered her own schooldays and the noise her friends and herself had made. Enthusiasm was such a mundane thing, but one of the few interesting ones to observe as it seemingly had the power to enthuse others just as much. Like a contagion of joy, perhaps. He then apologised, which attracted her attention perhaps for the first time, sounding sombre for some reason. She chuckled as a memory of the lower caste surfaced into her mind, all of them apologising just for being born, for daring to stand in her shadow, and other of such pointless acts. Just because her father expected her to be treated like a princess.

Nariko took a sip of water and cleared her throat, more so to assure herself it'd still function properly. "Your apology is appreciated. As it stands, you may call me Nariko." Her voice, against all expectations, sounded as it usually was - clear and determined, hinting at having had some vocal training. "I'm afraid my mind's still all over the place as I do not remember all too much from yesterday. Could you tell me where I am exactly?"

She assumed it was yesterday, as she had but a vague sense of time at this moment. She knew it was day and that this wasn't the Konohagakure that was described to her before she had left her clan's compound in Kirigakure, nor that this was an inn. It was certainly a place, but she could hardly rely on the colourful yet nonsensical memory that peeked at the edges once in a while. She vaguely remembered some nosy woman that had sold her these clothes, and though it wasn't quite the style she was used to, she had come to appreciate it nonetheless. Other than that, there was precious few she could place. Like how she got here, when she bathed and why exactly the name dame's name and that of Roku had lingered in her mind. And there was someone pouring out fruit juice or something...

wc 585 + 1240
= 1825

'Nariko' now that was an unusual name however it was still a very pretty name easy to pronounce and it sounded nice to the ears, Rakurai thought to himself and he was glad to see that she was talking better than she had earlier that morning. In fact she spoke proper as if she was raised in royalty or at the very least some where with a better education system than that of the orphanage. She spoke with an elegance that Rakurai only heard from the high class citizens around the village, definitely not the way that a orphan would talk. This of course spike his interest in Nariko more, as he had to wonder what on earth could cause a girl from high society to be covered in dirt and so disorientated. It was also obvious that the girl was no from Kumo or she would know that she was in the hidden cloud village. It had only been a couple of hours since they met and it was still in the early afternoon of that day, but after what she probably went through Rakurai could see why she would think it was yesterday. Especially since he had no idea how long she had been out wandering around, before he stumbled upon her. Rakurai took a deep breath before he began explaining, "well the good news is you have only been asleep for a couple of hours so it is still the same day" he said with a smile, before continuing "currently we are in Madam Selene's orphanage, but if you mean what village we are in the village Hidden in the Clouds" Rakurai point to his Hitai-Ate on his forehead to show the symbol of the Hidden Cloud Village with a smile on his face. "You must of arrived here early this morning and when we spoke you were not making much sense your words were all distorted, that's why I brought you here to the orphanage" he paused briefly pointing around the room they were in, "Madam Selene was the only one I knew that could help you other than the hospital and they would of asked more questions than the kids did. And I was not sure if you would want something like that"

Rakurai paused for a moment looking at the girl across the table, as if trying to find the right words to say to her as to not upset her. "I do not wish to upset you but if it is possible I need to ask you some questions about this morning when I bumped into you," he paused again trying his best not to talk to fast, one of his many bad habits. "You seemed very disorientated like you were hallucinating and your words did not make much sense, if you do not mind me asking, where did you come from and what exactly happened to you? You don't have to answer me if you don't want to I'm just curious" Although he was interested to know about this girl named Nariko, if she did not want to answer him then he would not push the subject.

---

WC: 531 + 1452 = 1983

The good news...? She had barely slept, and he called that good news? How different must the world of an orphan be compared to that of the high society. She felt like a wreck still, her body not even sure what to ask first - food or sleep. It wasn't as if she could blame him for not knowing though. If anything, she had precious few feelings with the world of the poor either but she at least aimed to change that. It was all part of a great plan in working. His next answers, at least, gave her some orientation. An orphanage in Kumogakure. Even if she disliked the fact she hadn't been brought to Konohagakure by that stranger, it felt good to know whereabouts she was. She was going in the right direction. Somewhat.

Raku explained how little sense she had made earlier in the day, and though Nariko vaguely remembered the surreal washes of colours she had seen, she couldn't properly place them or get a hold of them. Hallucinations was most likely the best word for the imagery she had seen and explained what nothing had made sense. Nariko assumed the hallucinations had further worsened her already weakened state, but thanks to the help of this orphan and the Madame, she wasn't dead just yet.

"My sincerest apologies. I had no intention to burden you with my weakness.", she apologised, more out of societal etiquette than anything else. She had been raised to expect help as this to come without asking, but she knew this help here wasn't so much the norm outside her clan. Still, it felt strange to use words as 'please', 'thank you' or offer apologies like a simple servant. "I origin from a village to the north-east of Kirigakure. We generally stick to ourselves, caring little for affiliations but those we forge personally." With her stomach mostly filled, Nariko left the rest of the food for what it was, not feeling the desire to torture her taste buds any longer. "As for how I got here... I travelled. Supposedly with someone who was about to guide me to Konohagakure, but he left me in the dark of the forest. I had to keep walking, surviving on whatever looked edible enough. And you say I ended in Kumogakure? What should I be expecting here, exactly?"


wc: 397 + 1825
= 2222

"It was no burden at all" Raku said with a smile, "and as far as konohgakure you are definitely took a wrong turn or were lead a stray for you to end up here but the good news is that your still alive" Rakurai stopped talking silently cursing himself why did he keep saying something was good news? This was not the way he normally acted or talked, what was it about this girl that is causing him to act so strange. Rakurai quickly snapped himself out of his mind and back to reality and Nariko who had asked him a question. "Yes this is Kumo and as far as what to expect. Well I really don't know how much help I will be to you as I try to stay out of the affairs of the village unless ordered and I don't know too many people outside of the orphanage. People like to look down at someone like me, I thought that would change when I became a shinobi but the looks are the same so I just stick to myself" he paused briefly to find some information that he might be able to give her that would be useful. "What I can tell you is this. We recently got a new Raikage, I have not had the pleasure of meeting with her yet but I hear she is nice. And most of the shinobi and even the citizens are fans of blades. Although I can not tell you much about the people here, what I can tell you is there are some really great sites to see such as the skyforge everyone in the village gets blades made there for the right price. Then there's the battle plateau which is the best place to train inside the village walls, and if you go to the center of the village there is this giant tree that they call the Durian Tree and it has these fruits that look like apples but the rumor is that it can kill if you tried to eat it. But the best part about the tree is the area from there you can see the whole village, which is just beautiful especially at sunset." Raku stopped talking and looked to the clock on the wall behind the girl, it was almost six which means it was going to be sunset in less than two hours. He missed out on his training today but he could still make it to the Durian Tree if they left soon. "You know for a while now I have made it a habit of going up there everyday before sunset just to watch the change it puts over the village." he paused for a moment as he was still unsure of the girls condition, however he decided to ask her anyways. "If you are feeling up to a short walk, Nariko, I would love for you to join me, but I understand if you don't think you are ready for it or if you just don't want to. It is just something that you have to see before you leave, if you want go with me at least promise me you will go some time before you leave."

---

544 + 1983 = 2527

Nariko listened to the revelation of Kumogakure, but all the names meant little to her. Raikage? Since he stated it was a 'her', it meant it was a person. She had heard of a Mizukage before back in Kirigakure, the leader of the Kiri-nin, but Nariko had little dealings with her since her family wasn't exactly affiliated with the Village. Was a Raikage someone similar? It seemed like it.
Proceeding to the local shinobi's favourite weapons, Nariko found them to be rather dull. Mundane. A bore, really, as they were generally rather predictable in their nature and intent, unlike genjutsu and even ninjutsu. She couldn't deny their usefulness, but had little else to say about it as her upbringing made use of swords more as a show of traditional prestige than an actual means to fight. Since she had seen plenty of those 'duels', she could probably wield one with feigned equal expertise while, in fact, she was worse than a rookie in reality.

To further hear that the whole Village seemed to be build around the production and use of these blades, her mind decided it would be a fun thing to sabotage that whole structure. Bring the system down and destroy their reliance on such a mundane weapon in favour of a more creative approach. Perhaps one driven from necessity. But despite the intriguing thought, Nariko was still too exhausted to come up with a proper way of actually putting such an idea into motion. Instead, it drifted towards a giant tree with deadly fruits and a sunset. She wasn't sure if she appreciated the romantic aspect of the image, or the irony to find beauty near a tree with potential for havoc. Perhaps this Village wasn't all that bad...

Then Rakurai offered to show her the tree. Nariko was intrigued by the havoc tree, but less so about the subtle invitation to a sort of date. And even if that wasn't the boy's intentions, she honestly felt too weak to do much more than take care of her most basic needs currently - eat, sleep and recover from the whole ordeal. "I'm afraid I'll have to decline your invitation until my condition has improved, Raku. I will, however, remain in Kumogakure for a little while so there will be a fitting opportunity at a later date."

She wasn't sure how long she would stay here, but with Rakurai mentioning the tree and the Village's reliance on blades, she felt it to be her duty to cause some mischief. Test the waters to see how she could properly break down the calcification of humane potential by the increasingly structured masses of civilisation. But for that, she'd have to know her opponent first.

The food she had eaten suddenly urged her into another state of dormancy as weakness and satiation bundled their efforts to throw her body into another slumber. "I feel exhausted, so I'll go find some rest. Excuse me for my rudeness." Leaving her seating place, she waggled back towards the room she came from to sleep some more. How long would it take for her to be restored?


wc 535 + 2222
= 2757

[Exit]

Training:

"Of course I understand, no need to apologize" Rakurai said as Nariko exited the room. "Good night" he called after her as he did not think he would see her again before he himself went to bed later.
Rakurai exited the orphanage and headed out for the Durian Tree so that he could watch the sunset over the village just as he always had, however in the back of his mind the girl was still in his thoughts. He understood that she was still in a weaken state and that she needed her rest, which is why he did not object when she left the room to go lay down. If the situation was reversed then he would probably want to rest himself, as he headed down the road towards the Durian Tree he noticed that the street was a lot less full of people than it was earlier this morning when he was escorting Nariko to the orphanage. The sound of a dog barking pulled his attention to the nearby alleyway, to see a man riding very large dog taking off down one of the other roads headed in the other direction, 'things never cease to amaze' he thought to himself with a chuckle. He arrived at the Durian Tree and enjoyed the peace and quite as he leaned back against the tree and watched the sun set in the distance. He stayed there under the tree well after night fall, as he contemplated on what he should do considering he was not tired yet. He finally decided he would go on over to the battle plateau and train seeing as he was not able to do it earlier in the day, 'just a couple of hours' he thought to himself as he stood up and headed for the Battle Plateau. It was a calm and peaceful night, with a nice cool breeze that flowed through the streets of Kumogakure. The breeze gave Raku a cool off something he did not necessarily need but it was still refreshing.

Once he arrived at the Plateau he removed his coat and placed it on a bench the same way he usually did when he arrived at the plateau. Raku was a creature of habit, much like his enjoyment of watching the sunset from the Durian Tree everyday, he had a habit when it came to his training as well always choosing the same target to practice his aim. He removed his Kunai from the pouch on his right leg, aiming briefly before throwing it. And reveling in the sight of the Kunai sinking straight into the bulls eye, Raku smirked as he walked over to the target to remove the Kunai. After a couple of hours of training he retrieved his coat from the bench and headed back to the orphanage to get some sleep. Along his walk he thought about everything that had happened since this morning, and then he wondered if the girl would still be there when he woke.

{Exit Thread}

---

501 + 2527 = 3028
D-Rank Jutsu 750 x4 = 3000
Total Ryo Cost = 320

{OoC: hey sorry for the exit but I wanted to go ahead and turn in the words for some jutsu, but I would be in for another thread later if you wish}

((OOC: Sure, no problem. Edited post above to add an Exit & Training. We can do a part III where she's actually restored and able to go see the tree with you?))