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Post by Hyuuga Hinata on Jul 27, 2007 16:44:48 GMT -5
Hinata had begun to feel so trapped inside her home. It suddenly became so unbearable that she finally decided to go out and have a walk in the village.
It felt great to be outside, to be in the light of the sun. She closed her eyes and looked up, allowing the sun to hit her face. Her cold cheeks felt warm. She smiled, then came back to earth and continued her walk.
She was now coming into the slightly busier part of Konoha, where all the shops and stands were. She passed clothing stores, street performers, food shops, and the like. Hinata passed all these by without a second thought or glance.
Finally, Hinata came across a shop that perked her intrest. The book store. They had posted a list of new selections. She walked over to the list, to see what they had gotten.
Her nose wrinkled at the porno selection. That was more for Naruto-kun's sensei. She scanned the list until she found the romance section, then began to look carefully to see if anything sounded interesting.
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Post by Nara Shikamaru on Jul 27, 2007 17:02:35 GMT -5
Ugh. The more crowded part of Konoha...
Shikamaru contemplated turning around and making a detour by taking one of the adjacent streets. Actually, he didn't even have to go this way... There was one which he could follow to save some more time and even make his trip to the Academy shorter.
Being a Chunnin was such a drag. Go here, go there, all day long, and help everyone with their problems. You're smart, so these kind of things are just right for you. And all he really wanted was to lie back and watch the clouds, or play something like go or shougi. That was, if he could find someone to play with.
Just as he was turning away from the dreaded agitation, he noticed Hinata shyly make her way through, keeping to the edge of the street. She seemed rather lonely, but then again... she did most of the time. Shikamaru watched her enter the book store...
He was going to regret this, he knew it, but he was feeling humanitarian enough to follow and see if anything was wrong with her. He hadn't seen her in a while. Sighing, he changed directions once more and headed for the bookstore, managing to enter it before the door someone else had opened closed behind them. One less effort to make.
Once in, he looked around for Hinata, though the lighting could get rather dim between the shelves. She hadn't gone far, he noticed, she was just browsing for something.
"Hey," he said, stopping beside her and glancing with only casual interest at the shelf she was currently examining.
Romance. That figured.
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Post by Mau Kawa on Jul 27, 2007 17:03:01 GMT -5
'Wow.' Mau thought. She was tired. It wasn't really easy to make a three day trip to konoha, suna or Iwa villages. But, she had friends that belonged to all, so it was worth it. She was walking around when she saw a girl. Mau's cat ears twitched, and her tail slightly bristled. She diddn't really know the smell of this girl, and it kind of freaked her out. But, then again, who else did she know in this village besides Mitsukai? Oh well, better to met and learn. Mau slowly walked up to this new person. "Hi." She said. She hoped that would be enough.
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Post by Hyuuga Hinata on Jul 27, 2007 17:16:47 GMT -5
Hinata finally found the latest book in her favorite romance series, " Cupid's Ignorance." The title may be tacky, but she thought the book itself was one the most fantastic things she had ever read.
She took it from the shelf, and started to read the first page, when a somewhat familiar voice distracted her. She looked up, and saw Shikamaru. She closed the book, but since she intended to purchase it, she did not put it back.
" Konnichiwa, Shikamaru-san," she smiled. She was slightly confused. Not to be rude, but why would such a slacker be in the busier area of Konoha? Shikamaru wasn't exactly a 'people person', but she wasn't going to say so. She didn't want to be troublesome, as Shikamaru would so quaintly put it.
" What, may I ask, brings you here?" she asked. Her eyes switched from Shikamaru to a new girl, wh was standing next to them. " Hello," she answered. " What is your name?" she asked her.
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Post by Nara Shikamaru on Jul 27, 2007 17:23:41 GMT -5
What in the world?
Shikamaru looked up beyond Hinata, only to see another girl on her other side, undoubtedly the one who had greeted her at the same time as him. How troublesome. He had known it was going to be this way, but no, he'd just had to go and come. Now he had to stand there and bear it like a man.
... That didn't make it any less of a drag.
He contained the tortured sigh he felt building up in his throat, and just ignored the other girl for now. He didn't know her, and she hadn't addressed him. So it meant he didn't have to talk to her or anything. No more extra things to bother with.
"I just saw you and figured I'd say hello," he shrugged, replying to Hinata.
He looked back at her and smiled a little. She had always looked like she needed protection or encouragement, and that was something he recently found himself giving freely. Too freely for his own comfort.
"And to see how you were doing, I guess," he added, the same routine-like way.
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Post by Mau Kawa on Jul 27, 2007 17:41:12 GMT -5
Mau's fur continued to bristle when she smelled another person. "My name is Mau..." Mau was careful to not sound annoying. Her gaze ripped from the girl to the other person. 'Great.' Mau thought nervously. 'Just my luck, it's a guy...' "I'm sorry for not seeing you before." She quietly told him. Mau didn't know ETHER of these people, and her cat demon was REALLY mad. She had to keep it calm.
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Post by Hyuuga Hinata on Jul 27, 2007 18:03:34 GMT -5
Hinata's eyes darted from Shikamaru to this new girl. She felt some tension in the air, but wasn't sure who is was from.
Hinata suddenly noticed something strange about this girl. She had...
... A cat tail?
She wanted to ask, but decided that the girl might explain it herself. Hinata turned to back to Shikamaru, keeping her smile. She liked to see her friends from the chuunin exam, even if it was the ones she rarely talked to, such as Shikamaru. She had been hoping to meet Naruto, but that didn't seem to be happening.
" Oh," she answered him. She felt a little flattered that Shikamaru was wondering how she had been getting along. " Well, I've been just fine, but it's been kind of lonely. I haven't really seen or talked to anyone in awhile," she stated. She wasn't lying, no one had come to see her, she hadn't seen anyone around town, and when tried to visit other people, they either didn't answer, or weren't home.
It felt refreshing to see a familiar face. She wondered if Ino, or Chouji were with him. She glanced around, but didn't see either of his team mates. Oh, well. She was content with one.
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Post by Nara Shikamaru on Jul 27, 2007 18:18:02 GMT -5
Shikamaru noticed Hinata's glances and immediately knew what she was searching for. It was rather ironic to think their team had probably been the strangest and most retarded-looking one from the start, and now no one could see them as anything else. They couldn't see themselves any different, either, even when they didn't say it.
Those two... not so troublesome once you got to know them. Even Ino... only sometimes, though.
"Neh, Chouji and Ino aren't with me," he told Hinata, shoving his hands in his pockets and leaning against the edge of a book stand. "They have other things to do right now..."
He was staring up at the ceiling, at a small opening with a trap door that undoubtedly could be used to get to the roof. Through it, he could see a patch of white against azure, a cloud on the sky. He only wanted to finish his work for the day, then just go lie somewhere and do nothing. Maybe with Chouji, or maybe alone.
"Oy," he remembered he still had something to do. "It's no problem."
He abandoned the sky for now and looked back at the other girl, nodding lazily. The words had been addressed to her. Now he had made her acquaintance. Great. Someone else to entertain a conversation with. What a drag...
'Don't complain,' he mentally noted to himself. 'You got yourself into this.'
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Post by Mau Kawa on Jul 27, 2007 18:23:44 GMT -5
Mau looked down at her feet. What was wrong with her? She wasn't normaly like this. But these two where older and probably smarter and stronger. It was kind of intimidating. Plus, these two seemed to know each other, and were probably friends. 'Ok, Mau! You're stronger than this! Shake it off!' Mau told herself. "So, what are your names?" She asked, her fur still not flattened.
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Post by Hyuuga Hinata on Jul 27, 2007 18:35:41 GMT -5
Hinata turned her attention to Mau. She gave a small smile. " I am Hinata, of the Hyuuga Clan's main branch," she said. She turned to Shikamaru.
" Should I introduce him, as well?" she wondered. Hinata knew how reluctant he was when it came to introductions. She decided she should, since his teammates usually did that for him.
" And this is Nara Shikamaru," she said, lifting a hand towards her acquaintance.
Since she was at a loss for words, and no one else seemed tto speak up, she decided to ask Mau the same questions she had asked Shikamaru.
" What brings you to the bookstore? Are you looking for something?" she asked slowly.
Hinata started to look around, and see if anyone there seemed to be on Mau's team. No one seemed to be with her. She looked back at Mau.
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Post by Nara Shikamaru on Jul 27, 2007 19:05:40 GMT -5
"Mhmm," Shikamaru bothered enough to mumble a confirmation for Hinata's introduction.
Basically, it said 'Yeah, that's me'. Though he didn't bother to try and make it sound too social-oriented. He needed to remind himself not to try and be nice again. Despite that notice, he knew it was just what he was going to walk into, all the time. Things always had to be like that and he always ended up bothering.
He was aware of the fact that he looked stupid. He didn't really care much, beyond complaining about his position in the group of 'uncool' people. Hinata was one of the people who actually didn't think that about him and the others who were normally classed like that. Maybe that was why he had felt the need to come talk to her. She wasn't troublesome.
"Oy, Hinata," he said, rather suddenly, but sounding mildly sleepy, almost as if he had just woken up. "Can I see that?"
He pulled a hand out of his pocket and held it out towards the book in her hand, in a self-explanatory fashion. That was what he wanted to take a look at. He was quite curious to see what she was reading, exactly, to be honest. Usually, people's preferences in such domains told more about their personalities than words could.
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Post by Mau Kawa on Jul 27, 2007 19:14:42 GMT -5
Mau tried to remember why she was there. "Well, actually, I was looking for a friend of mine. But when I didn't find her, I decided to come over and say hi." Mau told both of them. She felt a little more comfortable around them both, now that she knew their names.
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Post by Hyuuga Hinata on Jul 27, 2007 19:27:31 GMT -5
Hinata nodded at Mau's answer. A friend? Did that mean her teammates were not joining her? It wasn't her business, so she pushed those thoughts aside.
She turned to Shikamaru, who had called for her. " Hai, Shikamaru?" she asked.
He had asked to see something. But all she was holding was her book, which he motioned to. "Why would he be interested in my romance novel?" she wondered.
Shikamaru had his reasons, she could tell. And it wasn't like he was going to rip it to shreds, or anything. He wasn't like that. So she shrugged and handed it to him, although still wondering why he would be interested in it.
She turned back to Mau. " So what is your friend like?"
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Post by Nara Shikamaru on Jul 27, 2007 19:40:58 GMT -5
Shikamaru took the book from Hinata's hands and began to flip through the pages casually. If you knew what passages to choose to look at more attentively, you could deduce most of the plot. He had always found it an easy job, even when he needed to concentrate on other things at the same time, such as the dialog between the two girls.
That Mau person was weird. She hadn't found her friends, so she had just decided to walk up to two strangers to greet them? How troublesome... Shikamaru didn't get why girls could be like that. And so often, too.
Luckily, he didn't have to say anything for now, so his eyes continued to drift among rows of printed writing, as his fingers flipped more pages expertly. He could imagine why someone like Hinata would read this kind of thing. As he had imagined, it figured. And it told him much about Hinata and how she usually felt.
He continued to look, for the time being, but still remained receptive to what was going on around him.
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Post by Mau Kawa on Jul 27, 2007 19:48:47 GMT -5
Mau's gaze looked out of a nearby window. Her fur was flat again, but she was still a bit tense. "Well, her name is Mitsukai. I sparred with her once and afterward she gave me an antidote for a poison that paralyzes you. She's nice." Mau said. 'Am I annoying them?' Mau asked herself. She couldn't be sure. She still felt a little out-of-place when she talked to them.
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