1 Call it Recuperation [Training/Invite Only] Thu Jan 17, 2013 9:05 pm
Gin
Retired
Almost two months in the hospital could really take a toll on a person’s body, not to mention his or her morale. Gin Kuroka, current Kazekage of the Village Hidden in the Sand had gone from being considered one of the strongest shinobi in the world to being unable to even stand after such a long time just lying in a hospital bed, glued to an IV that kept her fed. Needless to say, she had seen her strength reduced greatly, not to mention the fact that she felt quite pathetic, looking back on the whole ordeal. Sure, she had been through hell. She had lost the people she had cared about most – her two unborn children and the former love of her life. But in her mind, that was no excuse to show weakness. She still had a title to maintain, a village to lead. She couldn’t let it all sink to hell because of her own lack of strength.
Gin scoffed. She knew that strength was key to holding her rank. Hell, she would be an idiot if she didn’t. But the fact that she could still barely stand was frustrating, to say the least. She looked at herself in the large mirror that her bathroom had. She had moved back to the Kazekage’s mansion about a week ago, the second she had been discharged from the hospital. In the few moments that she left Trilby’s side, she would often wander through the many rooms inside the mansion or look over the overwhelming amount of paperwork that had piled up during her absence. Merely looking at it gave the young woman a headache. Nevertheless, she had to fulfill her duty as Kage, regardless of the fact that she hated going through her administrative duties. Even so, that wasn’t her concern at the moment. She had taken a break from her duties to simply relax for a brief amount of time. She owed it to herself to keep her sanity within a firm grasp. Taking short breaks like this one was crucial for that.
Gin kept looking at herself in the mirror and frowned. She had lost a lot of weight over the last couple of months, regardless of the fact that her mobility had basically been reduced to zero. Then again, over that time, she had refused to eat. Looking at herself now – her sunken cheeks that displayed how ill she seemed, the bags under her eyes that showed the fact that she rarely slept, the pale skin that only added to her sickly appearance – Gin could only frown. She lifted her shirt slightly, trying to her a good look at her stomach. Her skin clung tightly to her entire rib cage. She could even see her hip bones as her jeans slipped down slightly. She had gone down a couple of sizes in clothes, needless to say. She knew that her appearance wasn’t up to par with what it used to be, which was why she had momentarily stopped wearing the revealing outfits that she loved so much. Quite frankly, she wasn’t used to seeing so little of her skin when she looked into the mirror. It was… odd, to say the least.
As Gin kept her shirt held above her stomach, her hands unconsciously drifted towards her bare skin, caressing her stomach. Upon realizing what was meant to be, but wasn’t, sadness and misery hit her like a speeding train. She would have been past her first trimester by now. Her stomach would have a small bulge. Her twins would be growing. She would be happy. Gin clenched her fists and shut her eyes. She couldn’t bear looking at herself. She felt tears welling up in her eyes. She did whatever she could to hold them back. Without thinking, without even hesitating, Gin threw her fist against the mirror. Shards of broken glass littered the floor as they fell with a loud clash. Crimson drops of blood streamed down the young woman’s fist, down her forearm and towards the floor. Gin let out a broken sob, her fist and eyes still both clenched tightly. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes.
Breaking the mirror didn’t make anything better. If anything, it only made things even worse. Gin now saw dozens of tiny images of herself staring back at her. A wave of anger spread through her entire being and invaded her core. With it came a need to kill, a need to inflict pain. She would have likely blown the entire building to shreds; she would have likely gone mad had she not heard someone speaking to her at that very moment. “Breaking a mirror usually means seven years of bad luck.” Gin recognized that voice, calm yet chilling and infinitely wise. She turned around to see none other than her mother, staring at Gin blankly. Her expression was unreadable, or at least Gin found it difficult to read. After about eight years spent away from her mother, the woman was nothing short of a stranger to her. Gone was the kind and joyful woman that had raised the young Kazekage. In her place was someone cold and unsympathetic. As Gin looked at her now, she could easily tell what had changed from the mental image, the memory that she had of her mother and the person that stood in front of her right now.
The mines had definitely aged Hana Nanahara more than Gin would have liked to admit. Small wrinkles were beginning to show up on her skin, though you could barely notice them. Her eyes and her gaze were no longer warm and inviting, but rather skeptical and almost dead. And yet the woman still managed to look like an older version of Gin, had the young Kazekage been born with dark brown hair and emerald green eyes. She could thank her father and the fact that the Kuroka genes were generally dominant for the fact that she had cyan colored eyes and silver hair. “How did you get in here?” Gin managed to say. Her tone wasn’t hostile, but rather melancholic. She looked at the woman, managing to ease her eyes open and let go of her clenched fists. “The doors were locked, I made sure of that,” Gin went on, mostly talking to herself, wondering if she had missed anything when she had decided to briefly retreat into solitude. Hana smirked slightly. There was a devilish glint in her eyes, giving off a sense of mischief. “There are many things about me that you don’t know, dear child,” She said simply. The woman took a few steps towards Gin closing the distance between the two. Gin flinched as the woman took hold of her injured hand. “Like what?” Gin said as she tore her arm away from her mother’s light grip.
Hana sighed and ran a hand through her hair – it was a habit that they both shared, one that Gin had likely unconsciously adopted from constantly being around her mother before she left to become a kunoichi of the Hidden Sand Village. It was painful, really, the fact that she could now barely recognize her own mother, the woman that had raised her and taken care of her even after Gin’s father had decided to leave them both. But then they had drifted apart to the point where they could be considered complete strangers.
Gin scoffed. She knew that strength was key to holding her rank. Hell, she would be an idiot if she didn’t. But the fact that she could still barely stand was frustrating, to say the least. She looked at herself in the large mirror that her bathroom had. She had moved back to the Kazekage’s mansion about a week ago, the second she had been discharged from the hospital. In the few moments that she left Trilby’s side, she would often wander through the many rooms inside the mansion or look over the overwhelming amount of paperwork that had piled up during her absence. Merely looking at it gave the young woman a headache. Nevertheless, she had to fulfill her duty as Kage, regardless of the fact that she hated going through her administrative duties. Even so, that wasn’t her concern at the moment. She had taken a break from her duties to simply relax for a brief amount of time. She owed it to herself to keep her sanity within a firm grasp. Taking short breaks like this one was crucial for that.
Gin kept looking at herself in the mirror and frowned. She had lost a lot of weight over the last couple of months, regardless of the fact that her mobility had basically been reduced to zero. Then again, over that time, she had refused to eat. Looking at herself now – her sunken cheeks that displayed how ill she seemed, the bags under her eyes that showed the fact that she rarely slept, the pale skin that only added to her sickly appearance – Gin could only frown. She lifted her shirt slightly, trying to her a good look at her stomach. Her skin clung tightly to her entire rib cage. She could even see her hip bones as her jeans slipped down slightly. She had gone down a couple of sizes in clothes, needless to say. She knew that her appearance wasn’t up to par with what it used to be, which was why she had momentarily stopped wearing the revealing outfits that she loved so much. Quite frankly, she wasn’t used to seeing so little of her skin when she looked into the mirror. It was… odd, to say the least.
As Gin kept her shirt held above her stomach, her hands unconsciously drifted towards her bare skin, caressing her stomach. Upon realizing what was meant to be, but wasn’t, sadness and misery hit her like a speeding train. She would have been past her first trimester by now. Her stomach would have a small bulge. Her twins would be growing. She would be happy. Gin clenched her fists and shut her eyes. She couldn’t bear looking at herself. She felt tears welling up in her eyes. She did whatever she could to hold them back. Without thinking, without even hesitating, Gin threw her fist against the mirror. Shards of broken glass littered the floor as they fell with a loud clash. Crimson drops of blood streamed down the young woman’s fist, down her forearm and towards the floor. Gin let out a broken sob, her fist and eyes still both clenched tightly. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes.
Breaking the mirror didn’t make anything better. If anything, it only made things even worse. Gin now saw dozens of tiny images of herself staring back at her. A wave of anger spread through her entire being and invaded her core. With it came a need to kill, a need to inflict pain. She would have likely blown the entire building to shreds; she would have likely gone mad had she not heard someone speaking to her at that very moment. “Breaking a mirror usually means seven years of bad luck.” Gin recognized that voice, calm yet chilling and infinitely wise. She turned around to see none other than her mother, staring at Gin blankly. Her expression was unreadable, or at least Gin found it difficult to read. After about eight years spent away from her mother, the woman was nothing short of a stranger to her. Gone was the kind and joyful woman that had raised the young Kazekage. In her place was someone cold and unsympathetic. As Gin looked at her now, she could easily tell what had changed from the mental image, the memory that she had of her mother and the person that stood in front of her right now.
The mines had definitely aged Hana Nanahara more than Gin would have liked to admit. Small wrinkles were beginning to show up on her skin, though you could barely notice them. Her eyes and her gaze were no longer warm and inviting, but rather skeptical and almost dead. And yet the woman still managed to look like an older version of Gin, had the young Kazekage been born with dark brown hair and emerald green eyes. She could thank her father and the fact that the Kuroka genes were generally dominant for the fact that she had cyan colored eyes and silver hair. “How did you get in here?” Gin managed to say. Her tone wasn’t hostile, but rather melancholic. She looked at the woman, managing to ease her eyes open and let go of her clenched fists. “The doors were locked, I made sure of that,” Gin went on, mostly talking to herself, wondering if she had missed anything when she had decided to briefly retreat into solitude. Hana smirked slightly. There was a devilish glint in her eyes, giving off a sense of mischief. “There are many things about me that you don’t know, dear child,” She said simply. The woman took a few steps towards Gin closing the distance between the two. Gin flinched as the woman took hold of her injured hand. “Like what?” Gin said as she tore her arm away from her mother’s light grip.
Hana sighed and ran a hand through her hair – it was a habit that they both shared, one that Gin had likely unconsciously adopted from constantly being around her mother before she left to become a kunoichi of the Hidden Sand Village. It was painful, really, the fact that she could now barely recognize her own mother, the woman that had raised her and taken care of her even after Gin’s father had decided to leave them both. But then they had drifted apart to the point where they could be considered complete strangers.
Word Count - Raiton Triaining C to S: 1236/9000