Usagi Taranabi
Genin
Sand Shinobi
Waaah, school starts today *sob sob*
Posts: 472
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Post by Usagi Taranabi on Jul 8, 2007 1:31:49 GMT -5
Usagi took a early morning stroll around Suna. It was a part of her daily routine. Her sister got her started. The two of them would eat, get dressed, walk around their village, then do some yoga or a little training. It would help center them, and keep their tempers low.
She started to sing while se walked. The streets were empty, and it was just too quiet for Usagi.
" She bought him a skateboard, a rail slide, his knee tore He traded it for drums at the local pawn shop She left him for staring at girls and not caring When she cried 'cause she thought Bon Jovi broke up "
She sat on a bench to catch her breath. She had been out jogging for about an hour, and she was tired. She shut her eyes, to try and keep the morning sun out of her eyes.
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Post by Sabaku no Gaara on Jul 8, 2007 1:57:44 GMT -5
Mornings as early as this one were always less congested for Gaara, since he was usually able to take care of his remaining matters during the night, when people didn't assault him with new ones as soon as he finished the old.
Sometimes, like today, he liked to go for a walk to clear his thoughts and get ready to face another day. The streets allowed for solitude at such hours when few people were awake and out, aside from the night sentinnels waiting for the end of their shifts, who usually were glued to their spots around the watch towers.
Breathing in the chilly air, whose freshness the sun couldn't yet steal away, he calmed and rested his troubled mind. Sometimes, it felt like too many thoughts and memories were inside of it and he would lose control of them any moment. But he never did.
As he rounded a corner, he noticed a girl sitting down on a bench and breathing heavily, as if she were hurt. There were no signs of blood or chakra flows, however, so he approached quietly, only to recognize her when the image cleared. Her eyes were shut.
A Kage was supposed to care for each and every one of his people.
"Ohayou," he said softly, trying not to startle her. "Is everything all right?"
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Usagi Taranabi
Genin
Sand Shinobi
Waaah, school starts today *sob sob*
Posts: 472
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Post by Usagi Taranabi on Jul 8, 2007 2:01:37 GMT -5
Usagi opened her eyes, and looked toward the sound of a familar voice. It was , again, the KazeKage. She smiled again. " Konnichiwa, KazeKage-sama,we seem to be running into each other alot," she said, bowing respectfully. " No, I'm fine. I'm just out for a walk, it's part of my morning routine," she said. " And you?"
(( Ugh, my keyboard is buggy, sorry for any extra characters -_-'))
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Post by Sabaku no Gaara on Jul 8, 2007 2:12:22 GMT -5
Gaara's eyes lost themselves along the road, as he was examining the path ahead. No one else seemed to be around in the soft light of dawn, and the silence felt rather strange. It was as if the entire village was deserted, when he knew for sure of what life thrived behind the walls, ready to wake up soon and resume its daily course.
His concern faded quickly at Usagi's reassurances and he smiled a little, slightly absent-minded.
"I was walking, as well," he told her.
He knew that anyone else in his stead would have offereed to do it together, keep each other company. But why would anyone he had just met a few days ago leave the comfortable freedom of their solitude to walk with him? Besides, Usagi probably felt intimidated around people of higher rank. And he couldn't even really offer a sensible conversation most of the time.
The social domain just wasn't his.
"I'm glad to hear nothing is wrong," he said, instead of inviting her to tag along.
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Usagi Taranabi
Genin
Sand Shinobi
Waaah, school starts today *sob sob*
Posts: 472
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Post by Usagi Taranabi on Jul 8, 2007 2:19:01 GMT -5
Usagi gave a small giggle. " You don't need to worry about me, KazeKage-sama," she said, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. " I'd ask you to come along, but you're probably enjoying you're quiet time." I'd probably ruin it, me and my big mouth, she thought.
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Post by Sabaku no Gaara on Jul 8, 2007 2:32:54 GMT -5
To Gaara's surprise, she actually did want to walk with him, so he turned his head a little to give her a nod.
"No, it would be nice," he said pleasantly.
He was a bit intrigued by how she always seemed to underestimate herself or to think she was a bother, and how she constantly needed reassurance. It was easy to pick up her modesty, bordering complete lack of self-esteem, from anything she said and did. He wondered what had happened to make her think she could never be good at anything, like that.
But he actually found her company refreshing. She never demanded anything and she was rather easy to talk to.
"We should go this way," he said, gesturing towards where he had been going so far. "The market is the other way, and it's bound to be noisy, even at this hour."
Scanning the path he had just suggested and finding it still pleasingly empty, he waited for her to join him before he could start off again.
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Usagi Taranabi
Genin
Sand Shinobi
Waaah, school starts today *sob sob*
Posts: 472
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Post by Usagi Taranabi on Jul 8, 2007 2:35:12 GMT -5
Usagi blinked. He actually wanted to walk with her? Try not to question it, she thought. Instead, she smiled again, and followed him in the opposite direction.
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Post by Sabaku no Gaara on Jul 8, 2007 2:49:09 GMT -5
Gaara slipped his hands behind him, in the large folds of the robe's sleeves that enveloped them, and he allowed them to meet there, forming a light lock. It was a comfortable position, especially for walking.
The wind was a pleasant breeze, having toned down in comparison to last night, when it had been quick enough to tear whistlnig sonuds from the empty spaces between buildings. That noise had kept him company during the night, as he was writing orders and verifying reports, or studying.
They continued on, side by side, pacing the streets in silence for a little while. Gaara figured she didn't know what to say anymore than he did. Or maybe she was just afraid she would say something wrong. It seemed characteristic of her most of the time, even if she tried to look cheerful.
"How is your training going?" he finally found something to ask, after he had swept his brain industriously in search for such an idea.
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Usagi Taranabi
Genin
Sand Shinobi
Waaah, school starts today *sob sob*
Posts: 472
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Post by Usagi Taranabi on Jul 8, 2007 3:03:14 GMT -5
" Well, one of my friends, Mau, is training me, and it's it going fairly well," she answered. she tried to keep it short, and to the point, so she wouldn't make a fool of herself. ' He probably thinks I'm weird, I don't need it getting worse than that,' she thought.
There was a slight breeze, and it made Usagi's thin,wispy hair fly in her face. " Ugh," she sighed as she took out a hair tie and tied it into a low ponytail, brushing a few shorter hairs out of her face.
There was an awkward silence, and it made Usagi fidget. She felt like singing, but she was a little shy singing around anyone else, especially some one so much higher ranked than herself. ' Gah, i like silence, but not like this!" she thought.
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Post by Sabaku no Gaara on Jul 8, 2007 3:14:42 GMT -5
Mau.
Gaara didn't recall that name from any of the lists of Sunagakure shinobi he had made or gone through for various purposes. It had to be a friend from the outside, then, or something of the kind. He wondered what they were doing in his village, but he supposed there were a lot of reasons for someone to come there.
Once he could let go of that thought, he realized the odd silence had installed itself again, making the situation a bit uncomfortable. He was also a bit surprised when he looked at her, by the change in her appearance. He hadn't noticed her shifting to restrain her hair.
"How about your Jounin teacher?" he asked her, unable to think up anything better.
Besides, he really was a bit curious about that matter. All Genins were assigned to a teacher, in groups of three, and yet she was training with someone else. Was her teacher not doing his or her job properly?
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Usagi Taranabi
Genin
Sand Shinobi
Waaah, school starts today *sob sob*
Posts: 472
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Post by Usagi Taranabi on Jul 8, 2007 3:22:31 GMT -5
"Well, he's an okay teacher, I guess," Usagi replied. " But I feel like I get more training with friends." The awkward silence had disappeard, for the most part, and Usagi ceased her fidgeting. But it still felt quiet, so Usagi still faught her urge to break it with her singing.
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Post by Sabaku no Gaara on Jul 8, 2007 13:07:45 GMT -5
"I see," Gaara replied, sounding a bit absent, despite his attempt not to let thoughts cloud him so visibly.
He seemed to be lost somewhere far away, in his own worlds, where he needed to distribute his attention between too many things at once. He closed his eyes for a long moment, keeping them tightly shut and taking a silent deep breath of the air.
That brought him back his concentration for the moment, and he tried not to trail off into thoughts of how to improve the system anymore.
Not right now. Later, when he would be alone.
"Who is the friend you were training with?" he then asked, opening his eyes to look ahead once more.
He needed to know who was taking better care of his village's shinobi than their own teachers.
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Usagi Taranabi
Genin
Sand Shinobi
Waaah, school starts today *sob sob*
Posts: 472
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Post by Usagi Taranabi on Jul 8, 2007 13:16:53 GMT -5
" Her name is Mau. Mau Kawa," Usagi obediently replied. she noticed how distant he was. " If you would prefer, I could leave you alone. I wouldn't mind," she offered. " Mau would like to train again, and I wouldnt mind being a bit early."
She brought her long ponytail over her shoulder, and started twisting it around her finger. She was feeling a bit fidgety again.
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Post by Sabaku no Gaara on Jul 8, 2007 13:39:35 GMT -5
Gaara could see that he was making her uncomfortable. He tensed a little, not liking that. He was used to it happening all the time, as it was one of the reasons why he preferred formal contact with people to familiarity. At least in the dimension of mechanical lines demanded by courtesy, he knew exactly how to treat them and they knew how to speak to him.
He nodded to her silently, knowing that if he told her to stay, he would be crossing the line. And keeping her somewhere she didn't feel comfortable being. Besides, he was no longer the child that clung to people at all costs, not even realizing he might hurt them in the process. He no longer made mistakes like that.
"You can go," he confirmed for her. "Thank you for your time."
Already, his eyes were paying attention to the first silhouettes of people that had descended to the streets: the early morning shift of guards, finally heading for their posts. He could go check on them for a change and ask about what they had been seeing lately in person. He hadn't had time to look through their reports just yet.
He couldn't help it. As much as he would have liked to be friendly, there were too many distractions. And he didn't even know where to start.
Some things, he guessed, were just better left untried at all.
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Usagi Taranabi
Genin
Sand Shinobi
Waaah, school starts today *sob sob*
Posts: 472
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Post by Usagi Taranabi on Jul 8, 2007 13:49:13 GMT -5
Usagi nodded, then walked off. She liked Gaara, she really did, but he made her nervous. She hated cutting their ' meetings ' short. She sighhed, and walked off to the park to wait for Mau.
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