Kaji-Sakura would crouching along the ledge of a building, gazing down upon salt factory below. The darkness of night had covered him like a blanket, with his blue eyes scanning the streets below, observing the occasional civilian that walked by, perhaps going on a social outing or heading home. These civilians weren't why he would be watching over them in this specific area or even at that time of day, for that matter. No, his skin would crawl just at that thought of what he would be perched here for, the deeds being so out of the ordinary that no normal person could perform them, not without being asked what happened to them in order to make them think that these crimes were such a great idea. Thievery, organized crime, assault, threats of violence, loitering, jaywalking, and oh god, the worst one of them all;

Lallygagging.

That wasn't even the half of it though, as this particular dastardly villain had always a calling card of sorts behind at the scenes of the crime, acting both as a sign that they did it and as some kind of trail that literally got everywhere. They would leave behind some kind of sickening slime, the mucus-sheets along the ground and walls that almost scream "look at me, I'm gross and you can't catch me", well, this particular hero did catch you, freakazoid, and it's time to bring you in. The shinobi investigating had nicknamed this individual "The Slug", because of the slime they had left behind, though still don't have a clue as to who this slug is or what their goals are, only that they exhibit slug-like qualities and those that come under the attractions of their scent seemingly become infatuated with them, letting the slug do whatever they want and not reporting anything until they're long gone.

A cocky smirk would appear though as he laid his eyes directly upon the salt factory of Iwagakure; a perfect hideout for someone nicknamed "the slug". Slugs are snails without shells, and as a result no one would think to look for one in a salt factory of all places. It's so obvious but so ironic at the same time. Superheros usually base some part of their costume off of something, like an object or animal, so for now, Kaji-Sakura would be looking through his robinoculars, getting a zoomed in perspective of the going ons below. When the last pedestrian had cleared the street, however, it would be time for he himself for descend and fight this evil criminal as well, before anyone gets that disgusting slime on them, or something like that. He would look into his handbag, finding two salt shakers and a couple small packages of salt, along with a bottle of vinegar, should the slime get on him. Yes, the restaurant he stole them from may miss these things, but rest assured they played a part in fighting for justice by not catching the young male before he made his escape.

Grabbing his grappling hook and a crap-ton of wire, he would combine the two, making a grappling hook with wire attached, which he would use to help him scale down the side of the building. He would try flying, or dropping, but he was pretty sure he would be fighting crime in a hospital if he did that, and he would definitely have some explaining to do to his secret sewer rat karate master. "Senpai, I didn't mean to do it, I was about to fight the Slug, but I thought I could fly, like a real Robin, you know?!" yeah, that wouldn't go well. He would rather stick to his robinhook and move on in life. Nights like these were so weird, especially when it came to climbing up and descending from buildings. Half the time he couldn't even really feel it, and other times he would feel dizzy, almost as if it was still his first time doing it. It was a blast to do it, of course, so he wasn't bothered, but half the time it just felt like there wasn't actually anything there in the first place, like he was just watching someone else be him.

These thoughts weren't the thoughts of a hero though, no. He had to push these away and think up a good pun to use when he enters. "You can't asalt people any longer, Slug!" He would exclaim as he reached the bottom, one boot touching the ground, accompanied by another. "You won't be able to commit a slime when I'm done with you!" He would say as he blankly looked towards the factory, punching a fist blindly into the air. Oh, wait, he got it! He would run through the ally, his boots smacking into the puddles along the ground as he would leave the alleyway, a large smile on his face as he ran across the street and towards the salt factory, his cape fluttering behind him. Taking three deep breaths, he would raise his left foot into the air, preparing his Justice Kick. As he would bring it as hard as he can against the door, he would slam it open, where he would barge on in, pointing randomly into the air with his right hand. "It's Slugging time!"

The workers would blankly stare at the weird, costumed teen standing before them, wondering what the hell he was doing, but it would be too late, in Kaji-Sakura's eyes, they were villains! Dastardly Devils! They must be stopped! He would run up to one, already tearing a packet of salt and tossing the grains into his eyes as he would run past the worker, moving to the next one and throwing a salt shaker at him as well. These were the henchmen of The Slug, so obviously the salt had to work on them. From there, he would run in between the next two, aiming to run up the stairs and onto the second floor of this factory, where he would bathe through the door to an office, where he would see an obese individual wearing black dress clothing. "Your reign of terror is over, you fiend!" Kaji would exclaim, taking the lid off of the bottle of vinegar and throwing it directly at this individual, dousing them in vinegar, where he would undo the salt shaker and throw that next.

The obese individual would just look at the Hero in disbelief, looking down at their soaked clothing and back at them, the strong stench of vinegar masking whatever scent they had previously. "What the hell, man?!" Would be all that came out of their mouth, but Kaji-Sakura would already have begun wrapping this villain in the wire, restraining them. "Your tricks won't work on me, Slug, I know about your slimy tongue!" He would respond as he stood there in triumph. This was his victory, his first villain taken down, and as he would tape the individual's mouth shut, he would focus back on restraining the rest of this large individual. "You know, you could've tried so much harder to hide. Why didn't you get a cool lava base or something? That would've been awesome. But nooo, you had to go for irony, well look where that got you, bucko!" He would begin to gloat, only for a shinobi to barge into the room as well, glaring at Kaji-Sakura.

"No need to worry ma'am, I caught The Slug, they won't be sliming their way out of this one." He would say as he shot a thumbs up towards the shinobi, though she would only walk up to the bound individual, releasing them from the binds. "Hey, what are you doi-" "shut the hell up, dumbass. You just assaulted three innocent people, the one getting arrested here is you." She would interrupt as she would grab onto his arm tightly. "Wait, you're wrong, it's The Slug, really.. why else would he be in a salt factory?" He would ask, confused as to what is happening. The logic is flawless, how could he have made a mistake? "That's not any Slug, that's Slugsworth, the owner of this factory, anyone with half a brain would know that. Now come on, I'm bringing you in." She would demand as she ripped off his mask, tossing it away. Anri would only look back at the owner of the factory before looking back down at the mask. He really did just harm three innocents... what kind of hero just does that? He was... a failure, not just to his family, but to justice and everything he stands for, as well..

"No!"

Anri would wake up with a cold sweat, lurching upwards in his bed, looking around as he began breathing heavily, grey eyes wide open in confusion and panic, his body tense temporarily. He would look around, only to slowly calm down as he would realize that he didn't make such a terrible mistake yet. The scar on his chest would tingle slightly, only to calm down as well alongside the rest of his body. Undoing the covers he would get up, looking down at his generic short-sleeved shirt of a superhero flying and his blue and white polka dot pants. He guessed he should wake up and actually prepare for a day of doing nothing but looking for another mission to do. With that singular thought in mind, he would go and brush his teeth and get ready for the day, though still remaining in his pajamas. He hadn't a choice, as he would hear the faint sound of a door being knocked on, and seemingly not a lot of other people were around to respond to it. "I'm coming, hang on a sec!" He would yell out as he would move out of his small room and down through the halls of the building, moving towards the door, opening it.

His eyes would widen with surprise as he would come face-to-face with his squadmate from that meeting that had occurred recently, the one that acted on edge and intimidating. "Uh... uh..." He would begin as his left hand would slide over his torso, attempting to grab the strap his his bag, only for him to realize that it wasn't even there. Shit, SHIT, the handbag helped him fully embrace his being Anri, and the mask within it helped him still be able to become Kaji-Sakura if need be. Without them both.. he just didn't know how to act. He couldn't just awkwardly leave his squadmate at the door though as he went to get it, he had to improvise, to think of something. "H-hi!" He would exclaim as he worked up a friendly smile. "W-what are you doing here? Is there s-something you need?"

Wc 1850

Catching the faint sound of a voice from within her brow would crease slightly, allowing her head to turn ever so slightly to one side fighting back to urge to place her hands and ear against the almost scorching surface of the door. The padding sound of footsteps shifting closer would cause her to take a step back, righting her posture just in case it were someone she were not acquainted with or were the head of the clan himself, whom she had already met some time ago. As the door opened her miss matched hues would set on the face of her squadmate, a relieved breath would slowly leave her through her nose, one she hadn't been aware of holding up until that point. However his reaction to her being there drew gaze to intake him as a whole her left brow would arch slightly to nestle under the lower dipping side of her lopsided fringe of pastel lilac strands as her gaze traveled from his face to his attire. 'sleeping in the middle of the day?... does he have a mission later?' As he spoke up she would catch her own expression and the possibility of coming at a bad time as well as remembering why she were actually there. Her lips would part as a light pastel blossom pink hue crawled along her high cheekbones and the bridge of her noise briefly. "ouh" Her lean body would shift into a low bow causing her lilac strands to fall forwards "I apologize if this is a bad time... I just..." Pausing she would raise to regain her posture as she continued the pale hue that had littered her facial features as she bowed now completely gone, "I wanted to apologize for not respecting your personal space at our first meeting. Elder brother pointed this out to me and I realize it were wrong of me to do such, so I apologies." The dull tone of her voice often and very easily mistaken for that of a lads would raise into the air clearly, though her accent would lace each word setting her apart from others within the village of Iwagakure no sato with ease.

Absentmindedly her warn hand would raise to the flat of her tightly bound chest to graze her thumb over the metal of her hitae-ate that remained tathered to her shirt as she continued to speak making sure to keep her miss matched gaze on his face through fear of giving way to an inappropriate laughter as the night attire her squad mate wore slowly sinked in 'I didn’t think it really went this far... he must really like super hero's...', "I was going to ask if you wanted to hang out, maybe get some food or something so we could get to know one another a bit better? Since were on the same squad now..." Pausing for a moment her hands would dip into her pockets, taking the pale pink flesh of her bottom lip between her teeth for a moment only to peel it from the grasps straight away, thinking back on the advice to Tsuchikage had given them. "But it looks like I've interrupted and the last thing I want is to interrupt if you have better things to do..." feeling the heat getting to her hands as they rested in her pockets causing them to overheat and clam up she would peel her hands from her pockets to rub her thumbs over the palms a mix of hoping her hands would cool, not knowing really what else to say or do. Internally she would sign and simply wait on her team mate to see his reaction or reply trying to keep her expression seeming as impassive as possible even with the odd curiosity of her team mates ability along with the kekkei genkai he held.



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The fourteen year old would listen as his comrade would apologize about if her arrival was at a bad time as she just wished to apologize for not respecting his personal space at their first meeting. 'Personal space...?' Anri would wonder to himself in response as he would try to recall what she was talking about, looking back to the recent events that had occurred, starting with his meeting with the Kage, moving to his injury, and then, finally, to what his ally was speaking on. It seemed she was apologizing for her literally covering his mouth and all of that fun stuff. As he would think back to that Anri would have a blank stare. 'If her elder brother knew about that, then does that mean that other guy.. is.. her brother?' Despite the extreme differences, he did look older, but then again unless he was remembering incorrectly they did have different last names, so that couldn't be it. The more likely scenario is that she has some sort of big brother back home that she told the meeting to.

Absentmindedly he would raise his left hand, snapping the pointer and thumb fingers as he continued to stare blankly, only to look back at the apologizing female. "I-Its alright! T-To be fair our s-sensei did start things off weird, revealing himself like th-that." He would respond, offering a friendly smile. He would glance at the hitae-ate that would be tathered over the female's shirt as she would ask him if he wished to hang out, to get food or something and get to know one another better, considering they're on the same squad and everything. As he would begin to respond however she would speak up again, responding that it looks like she interrupted something and the last thing she wants is to interrupt if he has better things to do. It would be then that Anri would take notice of how she was using her hands, seeming rubbing the thumbs over the palms for some reason. "A-Are you c-c-cold?" He would ask, wondering if he got the info wrong in regards to the idea of friction causing heat and warmth. Sure, they were in a heated environment, a greatly heated one at that, but who knows? It could be that she is as resistant to it as he is! That would be nice and it would give them something in common, as well!

Before he would give space to respond, he would continue on. "A-anyways, I have nothing b-b-better to do. I-if I d-did then I wouldn't be dressed like this. Hang on, I'm g-gonna get something better o-on." He would say with a smile as he would leave the door open and would go back down the halls, reaching the door to his room, where he would gently close it and would turn around, staring blankly towards the other side for a few moments. It was then that it hit him.

He has a friend.

"Oh man oh man oh man oh man oh man, where are they?!" Anri would exclaim as he would begin scrambling around his room. He was definitely already showered, his teeth were already brushed, honestly, all he actually needed was to put on a set of decent clothes, but he couldn't, he couldn't just stick to only that. He had a possible friend out there, and he couldn't mess it up with shy Anri, not with this facade gone wrong. He needs those contacts, something that can help him tap in his confidence. He would begin tossing some comics to the side, along with strewn about clothing and books. He would then lay his gray eyes upon that gray handbag of his, only to his horror not find the package containing them. "Shit." He would mutter to himself as he would lay the handbag on the bed before scrambling back onto his feet, running into he small restroom of his, where he would find the package on the sink. A wave of relief would wash over him as he would undo it, taking both contacts out and beginning to place them into his eyes, changing the color from gray to blue.

Looking into the mirror, he would make his hair slightly less messy before exiting, already feeling as if he was positively encouraged recently. This was the boost he needed. Where some had energy drinks, drugs, or something else of the sort, Anri had his identity, and without it, he knew he would only be a weak husk, nothing more. Taking off his pants, he would put on a pair of jeans before taking the gray handbag and strapping it over his right shoulder, the pouch itself resting on his left side, where it belonged. 'That's right, I think she was cold...' He would begin to think to himself as he looked around. He didn't exactly have anything that would really fit her... oh well, they won't be here any longer anyways.

Editing his room, he would look back at her, his now blue eyes looking into her own mismatched hues. "So where do you think we should go? I'm open to pretty much anything." He would ask of her as he would begin to walk back towards the entrance.

Wc 905

Twc 2755

'Does he always stutter?... is it a stutter or is he just always so nervous?... It was a bit weird going down into a basement to meet people but...' Her oddly warming smile would easily draw along her lips in return of the boys own, tugging the corners up just enough to take away the cold edge of her miss matched hues slightly. Her brow would crease a little as she drew her hands up and away from her sides just enough to take a quick look at them 'cold?' Her lips would part to speak only to close as the lad continued to speak, not watching to interrupt his stride though thought of the stride disappearing. Another trickle of sweat would slowly trickle its way down her back soaking into the binding that held her chest, such constricting her more feminine features giving way to a more masculine look. The heat whilst usual sort out by her were still a struggle in the jacket she still wore. Her mind as he spoke split between his words and the itch to remove her jacket even if it were just for the time being, causing her to chew at the inside of her bottom lip just off to the right side.

She would nod causing the bangs of pastel lilac hair to bounce. Her accent would curl around her words like a snake clipping at the end of each, "Okay, take your time." Her gaze would follow her team mate back off down the hall way as he left the door open. Almost as soon as he closed another door behind himself she would immediately begin to shrug out of her jacket before lowering into a crouch. Her arms would rest over her knees as she took a moment to herself, pressing her forearms into her knees, only for such moment to be interrupted by a sound from within the volcano, though the gurgling and spirting sounds seemed normal, or at least what you would expect to hear from within a volcano at least, it were the sound of a vioce. Her left hand would stretch out hovering her fingers above the ground as she lent not yet touching the bare skin against the heated ground as she turned her head to listen to the faint voice of her team mate. Her brow would crease as she strained to listen placing her fingertips down, her curiosity outweighing the sting it gave her as she listened to his shuffling about. 'did he just curse?' Her hand holding her jacket would raise to her lips, pressing against them, covering the smile and stifling the chuckle that had rose into her throat threatening to spill from her lips.

Though the air were coated in the odd molten scent, closer to the ground the scent were certainly stronger, almost enough to clog the passageways of a personal lungs. Her nose would crinckle a little at the scent itself as she inhaled determined not to forget the scent itself. As the sounds from inside quietened off, her mind would wonder allowing a gillfumurry of questions to swamp her mind. 'How much of the volcano were hollowed out for used by the Kanetsu clan? When did they first decide to live there? Is being in such a heated place better for their health?... All Kanetsu are supposed to be accustomed to the heat... at least that is what I were led to believe, yet now I question it after meeting Raishi Dono... Maybe Anri wouldn’t mind me asking...?'  

Snapping back into the here and now, drawing from the depths of her thoughts she would collect her composure the smile and all giving her a subtle  bonhomie sense as she slowly rose from her crouch just as her team mate exited his room. She would grip her jacket in her right hand as her left side more a less faced him. Her left hand would dip into her trouser pocket allowing her shoulders to relax back taking on a rather comfortable position as he stepped down the corridor. Her head would turn to face him allowing her miss matched hues would graze over him taking in his appearance once again. Speaking up to reply she would give a light shrug "We could head to the bazzar and find some place to eat, or we could chill out by the waterfall point?... I don’t mind... I haven't been out much to tell you the truth." 'He seems different... more confident...' Her brow would crease just a little as she took in the colour of the others eyes, 'I could have sworn his eyes were grey' shaking her head lightly her head would turn to look towards the village for a moment before looking back at him her previous smile returning as she looked back to him "Let's head to the village, we can decide on the way?"  slinging her jacket over her shoulder her hand would join the other hands action by slipping into her trouser pocket giving a moment for him to either follow or talk before turning to head towards the village, each one of her pouches now easily saw and more than she had carried upon their first meeting in the bowels of the Diamond hight's university, not displaying her usual kuni pouch on her right thigh this time as a post to its previous place on her left and the usually back side pouch, however unoccupied the specific pouch seemed. The two other pouches  though holding a good length and a sturdy structure seemed as though they had been made to carry a rather heavy weapon of some sort only to seem like they held in place two ordinary dancing fans.


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One detail that Anri had noticed upon exiting the room was the fact that his newly made friend was no longer wearing her jacket, making him come to the suspicion that she was never cold in the first place, but instead warm. She could also just be polite, but considering how they lived in such a heated environment, he can safely guess that said heat is indeed the cause of her lack of wearing the article of clothing. He can definitely understand why. While he and some other members of the clan had grown accustomed to it, it was more or less because they had literally lived most of their lives with it. Anri, for example, couldn't remember a time that he actually didn't live in he compound, scurrying about on his own little desires and aspirations, trying to live up to his desires to be a hero while also keeping to himself and refusing to make waves.

Honestly, he would have to admit that he generally preferred it here, anyways. He felt more than comfort from his living quarters, he felt stronger just being near the volcano, as if he were more energized than normal. He needed such a boost, and will definitely need it more than ever in the future to come. If he must admit to something currently it would be how easily fatigued he was, and how it plays such a major role in his current sleeping schedule. Something like the feeling his home gives him is exactly what he needs, as so his own growing accustomed to this heat has been both a blessing and a crutch for him to lean on.

He would nod in response to her talking about heading to the bazaar and searching for a place to eat, or to chill out by waterfall point, though she would admit to not really going out much. It makes sense really, since if she was absolutely outgoing she wouldn't keep her squad introduction short and mysterious, not to mention she wouldn't immediately pull out a weapon on a surprise or get all up in the personal spaces of others. He wanted to learn more of this new friend of his, to learn more than just a name or the idea that she doesn't go out much. He doesn't go out much either as Anri, so he could relate to it, but it's not something he would actually be interested in learning more about as he himself can admit to being introverted as well.

As she would look towards the village, Anri himself would begin to consider her suggestion. Why not do both? Why not pick up something and then head to the waterfall point? Clearly, she was feeling warmed up already, so not only would it help her in feeling more cooled off just to be near a source but it would also serve in filling hem both up. Yes! In his head, nothing could go wrong with this plan! It's no salt factory! She would look back towards him with a smile before he could speak, suggesting they head back to the village and then decide along the way. He would smile and nod in response to this. "Sounds good, I think I have a vague idea on what we could do first, if you're up to it." He would begin as he would follow along. A small bead of sweat would appear on his forehead, though not accompanied by others, as this wasn't from the heat at all, but from the anxiousness he still held and the stress of the personality shift that would begin to slowly grow, despite if his contact lens helping him gain confidence.

Wc 626

Twc 3381

[attempting to exit thread, thread continues in a new one]

TRAINING FOR ALL STATS: 9518/9625