Biting down on the soft pale blossom pink flesh of her bottom lip, as she attempted to keep her breathing relaxed whilst slowly peeling herself from under the smallest child, not wanting to disturb him or the others that remained sprawled around, much like they had been during the mid day story time; placing her left hand against the child's upper arm, curling her finger's over his shoulder to hold him in place as she slowly withdrew her right arm from underneath him. A nap time she wouldn’t mind joining in on, but she knew there were errands to run and since she weren't on patrol tonight a nap would be looked down upon for her. Once out from under the tangle of limbs she would remain crouched as she looked over towards the door. The elder brother stood waiting, he would simple shift his position keeping his moss green orbs on her as he waited. Holding her breath she would raise before stepping, slow and tentatively at first, over the children, looking for any and all openings her petite feet could fit; keeping to her tip toes much like a ballerina would, only spreading her toes out in an attempt to give her more balance, realizing mid way through she had lost a sock somewhere in the pile of children. Quickly growing in confidence picking up speed after deciding the sock were a lost cause, until coming to an abrupt stop; her pastel lilac strands of hair that framed her oddly sharp features would bounce  as she stood within the elder brother's personal space. She hadn't realized how close to the end, she had come. Stepping quickly off to one side, and out of his personal space, her miss matched hues of bloodied red and striking yellow would remain on him.

Not wanting to wake the youngest members of the household they would shuffle out before closing the door as quietly as possible following the eldest of the household, just in time to hear a loud thud followed by a commotion downstairs. Both sets of eyes would flicker quickly to the stairs for a moment. Taeru's miss matched hue's would flicker back briefly to take in the sight of the elder brothers damaged side before taking off down the stairs silently to find out what were happening. Slipping around the corner in a single sock, her hand would reach out to grasp at the door frame, quite literally slipping into sauce of the commotion. Her other foot would plant securely on the ground before peeling her fingers from the door frame as her gaze washed over the sight before her. Two of the older members of the house were... fighting? Her brow would arch as her head slowly tipped to one side, the confusion evident on her facial features. The sound of elder brother slowly making his way down the stairs would jolt the memory of the sleeping youngster's upstairs, throwing her immediately into action. She would slip her leg through the small opening between them using the advantage of her frame to slip in between them placing her whole body between the two, before slowly pulling them away from one another to the point where she could grip their shirts to keep them from one another. She would look up as the elder brother came around the corner, still holding them as they realized who were there, almost in unison straightening themselves out. Once she were sure they wouldn’t start with one another again for the time being she would slip off to stand beside the elder brother. Listening as the both tried to justify their actions to the eldest of the household "It wasn’t .. I didn’t..." Elder brother would simply hold up his hand silencing them both rather quickly before indicating for the others to speak and say what they had happened, each in turn relating a slightly varying account in turn, each that had spoke would either speak to Taeru or move to stand beside and behind her frame, vigulently sticking to their perception of her, hearing each of them range from calling her elder sister and elder brother depending on who it were speaking. Even if she were the opposite gender or younger than them. She had accepted quite some time ago that they, like all other's would perceive her in one way or another, and who were she to correct them?

"You two go and sit facing opposite corner's for the time being whilst I sort the errands. I will deal with the both of you later." Elder brothers voice though like that of silk it held an oddly stern touch. The two would do as told, muttering on their way to the corners of the living room. The elder brother would turn to face Taeru handing her a small slip of paper as he spoke "There isn't much today, make sure you eat whilst your out, you have your important mission tomorrow and we've already ate. Pick these bit's up on your way." She would take the small slip of paper nodding before slipping out of the light hold's the to hers had decided to grip at her leaving the elder brother to finish delegating the errands and chores to the others. She would crouch down beside the porchway, somewhat low enough for her rump to graze the ground as she pressed the flat of her bound chest against her knees. Reaching under her dull olive green t-shirt to tug the binding's tighter ensuring her chest remained flat before reaching for her pouches.  She would raise from her odd crouch to her full height of five foot five, attaching and securing the holster of her weapon at an angle against her lower back; its access point indicated for her right hand to retrieve. Turning on her heel's sharply she would attach the other holster; attaching the straps of the holster around her hip then thigh adjusting its position so that the holster itself could tilt freely on her left side. Her kuni pouch would be placed on her right side having had it's previous place taken by the other weapon as her rump pouch remained just below the other holster. She would place the little slip of paper into her trouser pocket before slipping into  her black and red trimmed jacket; her male attire dull and dark overall. Leaning against the wall she would tug an odd sock on before slipping into her boot's and out of the house.  

She would take her time walking the short distance from the home to the Grand Bazzar , taking the shortest route she could she would wonder through the bustling mid-day crowds, keeping her hand's securely planted in her pockets unable to avoid being bumped, her miss matched gaze would flitter about seeking out somewhere to eat. Making her way out of the hustle and bustle she would stop before a small tea shop, looking up out the menu in the window, struggling for choice on where to go, it wasn’t often that she were able to stop from the hustle and bustle of her own life, between mission's, her squad and the home, it didn't leave her with much time to enjoy thing's herself. Biting down on the soft pale flesh of her bottom lip once more she would struggle with the choice silently, just outside of the crowd.


(word count:1236.)

Yuki had a small piece of rock in his hand as he waited to be served he stared deep into it. To most of the restaurant's population maybe he was just some kid in a worn out pants and mantle combination staring at some trinket he had found on the street as he came here. Those people probably thought that he was some urchin that came here for a free meal, and while they weren't one hundred percent wrong, there was more to the story. To a keener eye the boy was holding up a piece of pumice, a rock that while not uncommon in Tsuchi no Kuni, was typically only found in some of its more dangerous places like Xiuhcoatl's Maw home to the largest known volcano, actively protected, maintained, and owned by the kanetsu. Anyone approaching the sleepy-eye space heater of a boy could fairly easily identify him as one of these ninja.

There was many a thing about this boy was hidden. His face was mostly obscured bandages leaving only a dreary, sleepy set of orbs that gazed deeply into the rock visible.  Beneath the long mantle he hid his weapon's pouch which rested comfortably on his, but otherwise obscured from view. His Iwa forehead protector at the moment was lazily hanging from his neck at the moment, taking a break from its forehead protecting behind the high collar of Yuki's mantle. Hidden within his rock, Yuki alone saw the kind grandma who often would eat with him. He could see her trapped inside of his little trinket suffocating and begging to be released.

With a flourish, the rock's center of gravity shifted into his right hand as the chisel spun like a shuriken around his left index finger. Grabbing it from the air he  breaks away at the rock with the speed and precision of an expert. Bit by bit the rock goes from its original amorphous form to   a more rounded shape with a perfectly flat bottom that could nearly fit in his palm. Brushing the super fine dust of the table he sat the piece down on its flat side, rotating it slowly as he looked to see what position the grandma was trying to get comfortable in.

Just out side of his perceptual range a stack  of leather bound menu whacked him squarely on the top of his white mop of hair. "Yuki!" Behind him a tall waiter glowered at him. "I thought you promised that you would bring shoes next time." With no response from Yuki except him squeezing his eyes closed and holding the top of his head, the waiter continued. "Ms. Manager's out sick today, so she can't eat with you today. You know you could eat with someone your own age. Make a friend or two, and if you can't get along with kids your age then find someone a little older."

"Fine," Yuki sighed, "but just so you know shoes hurt my feet."

The waiter raised an eyebrow. "More than my Kissaten Triple Menu Chop x3™?" His voice was exasperatingly, yet comically overly exaggerated. "I. Think. Not."

Yuki sighed as he tried his best to stifle the frustrated laugh that was welling up within, refusing to give the waiter the satisfaction. As he turned his head away from the man. Separating from the crowd there was a kid who was no older than he was, no maybe even younger than he was, that stood a whole foot taller than him. As Taeru walked up to the Kissaten to look at a menu, he couldn't tell Taeru's gender, and he began to second guess himself about Taeru's age.

The waiter's gaze matched Yuki's before he caught the boy's attention once more. "Yuki, See that kid outside." The waiter maintained eye contact and motioned with a nonchalant tilt of the head. "See how they look like they're conflicted and want to come in." It was easy enough for Yuki to see where the conversation was going so a small sigh escaped his lungs and he broke eye contact. "Go say Hi it'll be fun I promise."

Yuki got up from the chair leaving the little grandma that was trapped in the rock behind, and a little smile curled on his lips under his bandages. Secretly, he was excited to do this. "Okay."

As he left his chair the waiter's hand firmly pressed on his shoulder. "Tell your new friend that it's all they can eat, on me."

Yuki walked up to Taeru. "Hello. The waiter says you should come in. The food here is super, super good, and it'll be on the house. I'm Yuki, and if you don't mind you can sit with me." He spoke with an abnormal, for him at least amount of energy, it was apparent that the offer had caught his attention. He would extend a hand for Taeru to shake, hand passively releasing waves of heat into Taeru's own should the ninja wish to shake it. With a motion Yuki would lead Taeru to his table.

"Three spicy sukiyaki don with two eggs each, please Mr. Waiter."


[865 words]

Taeru's miss matched hues would shift from the menu in the window, as though to look through the glass. An odd sight had caught her attention. Her gaze would focus for a moment on a small frame bandaged from what seemed to be head to toe save for the kid's feet eye's and hair, from what she could tell this far off, wrapped much like herself in baggy worn cloth's. But it wasn’t the child's appearance that had caught her attention, no. It were the child's actions, were he... chiseling, in the middle of a restaurant? 'quirky.' The odd sight easily brought a smile to her lip's, though she would pause them in an attempt to keep some form of composure. Not wanting to be or even seem rude, her gaze would dart back to the menu as she bite down on the soft pale pink flesh of her bottom lip, quickly discolouring it. No matter how much she tried not to her gaze would inevitably flicker back to the child, wondering what exactly it were they had been working on and in such a short time. Absentmindedly her frame would slowly begin shifting closer to the restaurant, more so she could get a better look than anything else only to be snapped back into a more reasonable thought trail, as what could only be a waiter, familiar with the child approached. Pausing her gaze would be torn between the two and the menu, hoping her gaze hadn't lingered long enough for her to have been caught staring.  

Hearing the menu's connect with the child's head would make her own inch down a touch, almost feeling for the shorter being, cringing. Her gaze would cut back to them but this time more at the ready as her left hand dropped to Amai, grazing her finger's along it's pouch, flicking the latch open in the process. Unable to hear the exchange she would keep to watching for the time being, if there was anything that ground her patience, it were seeing a child mistreated and it were certainly not something she would stand by and let happen. Continuing to watch over the moment she would find the child looking her way, her eyes would snap back to the menu, carefully watching from the corner of her eye as she waiter lent down to speak. Catching a hit of what she perceived as a form on joy in the kid's steel blue eye's, her frame would relax a touch, shifting her hand to slowly press the clasp shut on Amai's pouch. Realizing the waiter were also looking her way as they two talked, she would contemplate moving on, in search of food, now that the kid seemed to be okay.  

Just as she were about to step away, she would be stopped in her tracks as she child rose to head her way, the moment giving her a chance to size him up, taking in the full view of his appearance, right down to his bare feet. 'No shoes?' Her miss matched hues would slowly shift from his feet to his eyes as he moved closer. Somewhat shocked by the lad's extrovert display, her brow would arch just a little causing it to nestle under her lopsided front fringe of pastel lilac strands. A soft smile would tug the corners of her lip's up, the clear soft spot for anyone of her age or younger, or those she perceived to be younger would pour through her usually calculated exterior as he spoke.  Her gaze would flicker to the waiter briefly as he were mentioned before flicking back to Yuki, the only word coming to mind as the child spoke adorable. Her smile would brighten tugging up the corner of her lips a tad further shifting her own hand to meet with Yuki's, the odd contrast of his heat meeting her unusually cold flesh. Even with the weather being quite warm her skin through snow and sun remained at the unusual temperature, it had gained just a few year's prior.  Her grip were just firm enough for the touch to be classed as a handshake and enough for the callus patched on her palm and fingers to be felt. Speaking as their hands released, her dull almost monotone voice, quite a neutral sound would only be lifted by that of a slight accent that seemed to cling to each word clipping at her word's, "Hello Yuki, It's a pleasure to meet you. My name's Himaru, Taeru. If it's okay for me to sit with you, I'd like to... I just wouldn't want to intrude."

She would follow the shorter lad into the shop as she spoke, taking the opportunity to peer over his shoulder at the table, seeking out the object he had been working on. Waiting for the lad to take his seat before shifting around to settle on the seat beside him as oppose to across from him, her gaze would shift from the rock to Yuki and than to the waiter as Yuki spoke, Giving the waiter a moment before speaking herself, the same monotone drone her voice seemed to hold naturally filtering into the air "I'd like some boiled iidako, with a side of anko, both small portions, with a ligustrum japonicum, if you have any, please sir." Her miss matched gaze would return to her eating companion, a mix of observing him and just generally returning her attention to him. Her right foot would raise to slip under her left thigh close to her bottom as she shifted just a touch to find a more comfortable sitting position, allowing her pouches to rest at an advantageous angle, should she need them for whatever reason.


(Word count:956.)
(Total word count:2192.)

Guiltily cashing in on the thread that I murdered.
Reaction Time - E to D-1 [750 WC/ 25 Ryo]
Speed - E to E-1 [75 WC]

WC used [825/865]