She had been within the village for three solid days but hadn’t made it out of the hotel room she had snatched up upon her arrival simply because she had spent the time sleeping – well, sleeping and getting used to the temperature difference. Destiny King was normally a nocturnal creature: she preferred slumbering during the day and staying up all night. For one it was cooler, for two.. well, she found the nights to be when those creative artistic juices flowed the best. But well… food was needed, and she was getting tired of what the hotel had to offer so her hope was she’d find something still open in the village that would sate her appetite: it was only a little after ten at night, but she figured most businesses would have closed down for the evening – either way she was about to find out.

”My friends don’t walk, they run. Skinny dip in rabbit holes for fun. Popping, popping balloons for fun: getting high off helium. We paint white roses red, each shade from a different persons head. This dream, dream is a killer: getting drunk with the blue caterpillar. I’m nuts. Baby, I’m mad. The craziest friend you’ve ever had. You think I’m psycho, you think I’m gone. Tell the psychiatrist something is wrong. Over the bend, entirely bonkers. You like me best when I’m off my rocker. I’ll tell you a secret: I’m not alarmed. So what if I’m crazy? The best people are. All the best people are crazy. Where is my prescription? Doctor, doctor, please listen! My brain is scattered: you can be Alice I’ll be the Mad Hatter. The normals? They make me afraid. The crazies? They make me feel sane...”, as the female with the shoulder length pink colored hair which was currently pulled up in a ponytail made her way out of the hotel her music blared from the headphones hanging loosely around her neck, causing a few people who were heading into the hotel to check in for the evening to pause and look at her – or perhaps it was her ripped black leggings, boots, purple pleated skirt, and black band t-shirt that hung off of her shoulders as well as the fact she wore pink tinted sunglasses despite the fact that the sky was pitch black save for the stars and moon that caused the looks to come. Either way she didn’t even bother looking back at them, she simply adjusted the strap of her black canvas backpack onto her right shoulder more comfortably before continuing on her way.

She really had no idea which way she was going though she had a rough guess from what she could remember from her first day of arriving in Sunagakure as to where the market area was. Besides, it’s not exactly like she was worried about anything: while she probably wasn’t the scariest thing that went bump in the night she was fairly confident that with the skills her father and siblings had taught her, as well as the few weapons hidden on her person, she could do fairly well in handling herself should anything or anyone decide to test her. ”Not that I’m going to go looking for trouble or anything...”, Destiny ended up muttering to herself as she turned a corner and began heading down another street: the road lit by the periodic streetlamp that cast a dim enough glow to see by without worry of tripping over ones own two feet.

Not more than another ten feet were taken before the female glanced off to the left of her, and across the street, with silver colored hues upon the sound of a drunken laugh reaching her ears. She cursed herself inwardly over having not noticed the small group of five male individuals nearby, yet it seemed they had been paying more than enough attention to her as all five were looking in her direction and whatever comment that had caused the laughter was definitely about her.

“I invite you to a world where there is no such thing as time, and every creature lends themselves to change your state of mind. And the girl who chased the rabbit, drank the wine, and took the pill, has locked herself in limbo to see how it truly feels to stand outside your virtue. No one can ever hurt you, or so they say… Sometimes the curiosity can kill the soul but leave the pain, and every ounce of innocent is left inside her brain. And through the looking glass we see that she’s faithfully returned but now off with her head I’m afraid is everyone’s concern….”, just as the music began to change to another song, still blasting loudly from her headphones, she continued on while the five men began to cross the street, calling out to her and whistling…

Word Count: 813

It was often said that there nothing good at night; that is, the decent, god-fearing folk knew to shut and lock thier doors at this time off night. No, only thieves, drug dealers and murderers prowled the streets at night, especially in this part of Sunagakure no Sato; a part known as the Sand Rats Nest. It was apparently home to some of the worst of the worst; if a day went by without a kidnapping or attempted murder, it was considered a good say.

So why exactly was he there?

It was the best place for the male to lay low for the moment. The ghetto of a hidden village was the best place to hide from those who sought him; a hidden village was large enough for a new person to slip into and hide from others, assuming a new indentity and attempting to run away from thier past, like this male was. He arrived in the village only hours before just as the gate was closing for the night, not that he cared. So long as he was inside, he was safe. For the night at least. He knew enough about survival to make it through the night on what he had -- virtually nothing. But even with survival knowlege, he had to find a place to hunker down for the night, and that was where he was falling short at.

It was how the male found himself, wandering down the streets of the Sunagakure no Sato's worst slum, attempting to mind his own business and find a place to settle himself for the night. At first glance, one would not expect Kijin to be anything more than a civilian. White/Silver hair spills down in a shaggy style, framing a pair of blue eyes, which seem to glow due to him being noted to have particularly vibrant and potent chakra. He avoids the traditional shinobi garb in favor of civilian clothes. All the better to blend into a crowd of people. He favors plain clothings, ones with no markings of sorts. On this particular day, he was wearing a black sleeveless shirt with an additional black hood that has a zipper down the middle. This shirt sports a red cross design in the front. He wears black pants with a black belt and black boots. Kijin wears black gloves with red rims, and also has his left ear pierced. For the moment, the hood was pulled up over his head to keep his white/silver hair out of view; something like that tended to draw attention.

Quick steps carried him through the streets of Sunagakure no Sato as those blue eyes looked about with careful precision; taking in all the details of the area he could in the dim light. While he necessarily did not like the looks of it, there was not much he could do on that aspect; it was a slum, what did he expect? People loitered in the entryways of buildings, or stood out front of various 'establishments' drunking and doing gods knows what.

Whatever it takes to get through the night, I suppose.

He d envied those people a bit; they had an escape from reality, despite how harmful it was. For him, there was no escape; to leave himself open in that aspect was to invite death to claim him, and he was not feeling like giving up just yet. And so, he moved through the streets of this village, searching, ever searching for something to catch his eye...

Up in the distance, he could hear some sort of ruckus; people laughing and shouting, seeming to have a good time...

---

611

”Heeeey there, pretty lady. You lost?”

“Yeah, maybe we can help you...”

“Or maybe you can join us and we can all have a good time.”, a high pitched giggle followed this response, and several of the five individuals laughed.

”Ignore them, ignore them… don’t rise...” Wise words to mutter to herself especially considering her very short fuse. She might have had a nasty temper but she wasn’t stupid: she was smaller than the five males and quite out numbered: the odds were not in her favor in this one. It was just that single strip of knowledge that kept her from turning around and punching the nearest one in the face. Silver hues darted around, looking for anyone else who might be in the vicinity: usually finding some kind of group to momentarily blend in with, even if it was one she didn’t know, could usually cause people such as those now following behind her to screw off: but, she was alone – at least that she could see for the moment.

”It’s not very nice to ignore people when they’re talking to you, lass.”

“Yeah, you one of those stuck up chicks?”

“Maybe we should teach this bitch some manners.”

Red clouded her vision and her footsteps came to a sudden and complete halt. Hands clenched into fists as the group behind her stopped too – shocked that she had done so and still a good few yards away. As the group looked among themselves in an attempt to figure out what exactly they should do now given her sudden unexpected response, Destiny’s silver hues glanced around for another purpose – any weapon she might be able to find from the world around her. She had been taught from a young age to utilize her surroundings: anything was a weapon if one knew how to use it and was creative enough. She spotted various items around herself that could be used: a length of thin chain, a large metal bar, and several other items including what looked and smelled to be an old opened can of paint thinner.

”Come on, girly.”

“Yeah, come play with us….”

“We promise you’ll like it.”, more giggle, more of that nerve shredding giggling.

Destiny’s hands clenched even tighter into fists, the idea that these five pieces of scum had likely approached females in the past in the same method and with the same devious thoughts in their minds, was only causing the already thin hold she had on her temper to fray. More red clouded her vision and without giving another ounce of thought to the fact she was decently out numbered and on a street with no presumed help, she darted forward just as the nearest to her began to reach out a hand towards her shoulder. Her dart forward not only put distance between herself and the five but brought her closer to the weapon she was aiming for: the length of bar that would work exactly like a bo-staff. No sooner had she snatched it up, her expertise showing in the grasp which she took upon the length of metal, did she turn to face the five morons who had angered her. She gave the make-shift bo-staff a twirl, brows narrowed in anger.

The response to her stance and her weapon? Laughter, as the group of men moved closer, fanning out to circle her. They seemed hardly worried about being overheard, and more importantly hardly worried about getting into any form of trouble – neither of which really caused the young female to care much. While this was the first time in this kind of a situation she was still fairly confident in her abilities to make it out unscathed: then again, maybe she was too much of a hot head to be thinking clearly, eh?

”Now, now. Why don’t you put that down before you hurt yourself, huh?”

”Get bent.”, was Destiny’s only reply as her gaze narrowed further. Her tone of voice, her stance, and the daggers she was practically glaring at the last man to speak was more then enough to cause all of them to sober up a bit – but only slightly.

”Aren’t we a feisty one?”

“Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?”

”No, but I’m pretty sure you kiss each other with yours.” She didn’t know why she said it: had she been thinking logically and calmly she probably wouldn’t have. In fact, she probably would have just run away in the first place and avoided the situation entirely. Buuut no. She had to be a hot head, and she had to open her big mouth.

”You little bitch---”, words growled as one of the males advanced, arm outstretched as if to grab hold of her. The reaction that came was entirely instinctual: no thought, only survival. If he grabbed her she was done for, that much she assumed. The best way out of it? Whack the bastard in the hand hard enough to break fingers. The action was simply enough, a twirl of the makeshift bostaff that had the pole sweeping upwards just as the hand reached toward her, momentum packed in the action. As the bostaff collided with the males fingers it forced them back: the two objects colliding and the bostaff winning. The hand was knocked away but not before several of the fingers were pushed back suddenly and forcefully enough to snap them at the knuckles, leaving the males hand at an awkward angle. The scream the man produced as he clutched his hand and backed away, plus the language that flowed from his lips, would have been enough to make any sailor blush: but it didn’t effect Destiny in the slightest. Instead she gave a twirl of her staff, stance shifting as she kept an eye on the remaining four who were still very much intact. ”Y’all going to leave? Or am I going to have to teach you guys a lesson next just like your friend here?

Word Count: 1,001 | 1,814

-Exit due to thread inactivity-

Total WC: 1,814

Genius Perk = 20% WC Reduction
Reaction Time E → E1: 1,814 – 60 = 1,754
Reaction Time E1 → E2: 1,754 – 120 = 1,634
Reaction Time E2 → E3: 1,634 – 180 = 1,454
Reaction Time E3 → D: 1,454 – 240 = 1,214

Strength E → E1: 1,214 – 60 = 1,154
Strength E1 → E2: 1,154 – 120 = 1,034
Strength E2 → E3: 1,034 – 180 = 854
Strength E3 → D: 854 – 240 = 614

Endurance E → E1: 614 – 60 = 554
Endurance E1 → E2: 554 – 120 = 434
Endurance E2 → E3: 434 – 180 = 254
Endurance E3 → D: 254 – 240 = 14

Throw Away: 14