A Day Off in the Mist (Open RP)

[Kirihara Takumi]

"No missions, huh...?"

Takumi wandered around in the cold mists just outside Kirigakure. He'd always liked the mist, and the cold... probably since he'd spent so much of his childhood running around in it. He yawned, and smiled as he watched his breath become one with the mist.

"I wonder what I should do today...?" he pondered, then grinned. "Probably nothing," he thought. "But... you never know. You just never know..."

Takumi wandered off into the mist, not really knowing or caring where he was going or what he'd find when he got there.

[Hishime]

A young kunoichi shivered gently as she continued her way through the thick mist. Her black hair was messy and covering part of her face. Her clothing was nowhere near suited for the cold temperatures in Kirigakure. Only a short skirt, fishnet tanktop and a thin jacket wouldn’t keep her warm.

Her ocean-green eyes were focused on the cold ground, wondering how long it would take her to find a shelter. She was from Sunagakure, she wasn’t used to this cold. For her, it was almost unbearable. But she knew that she just had to deal with it. Going back wasn’t an option anymore. She had gotten this far, she couldn’t turn back.

‘I wonder what I should do today?’ A quiet, male voice cut of the silence. Hishime practically froze. She held her breath and carefully looked around her. She couldn’t see a bloody thing, the mist was too thick. Soon, footsteps were heard. A dark shadow suddenly appeared in the distance. It was hard to see who or what it was.

Quickly, the young woman moved her hand to the weapon pouch on her hip. She opened it, and pulled out one of her kunai. She didn’t know who was coming, but in this dangerous world, she had to be prepared for anything.

[Kirihara Takumi]

Takumi continued to wander aimlessly when suddenly he noticed a shadow in the mist. It was too far away to see what it was, but he knew this area well, and there shouldn't be anything there...

"What sort of person would be wandering around here with this mist?" he wondered. "Uhh... okay, me... but I'm usually the only one."

Takumi smoothed out his silk robes - his lightest set, the blue verging on white - and raised his guard, sleeves draped in front of him. If he called out, the figure might flee... that would be bad. Someone who would flee is probably an enemy, or at least someone who shouldn't be there, and therefore best not to let them escape. Takumi walked cautiously forward, letting his robes hide him as he quietly approached.

[Hishime]

The dark figure just continued walking. Hishime kept her eyes focused on the shadow, running through her options in a split second. She could just stay in place, and wait for the person to come into sight, or she could approach the figure. But, that wouldn’t be a smart thing to do if he or she was an enemy. Hiding also wasn’t an option since it had probably already spotted her. Fleeing seemed like the only option left, but there was a slight chance that she would be followed.

She smirked silently. Quickly moving her hand through the large pouch on her hip, she pulled out a few more kunai, holding two in each hand. She didn’t know if her little plan was going to work out, but it was at least worth trying.

Hishime took a deep, quiet breath. Then, half a second later, she sent all of the kunai flying towards the approaching shadow with a powerful throw. She hadn’t aimed on the person itself. The kunai just flew past it, but only barely missing. Hoping that this would scare the figure off, or at least surprise him or her, she now only had two seconds to run.

The young woman turned on her heels, bent through her knees, and then took off in the opposite direction. She didn’t look back, knowing that would only slow her down. Soon, she disappeared out of sight, and continued running. The thick mist made it hard to see where she was going, but as long as she would get away from the shadow, she didn’t really care.

[Kirihara Takumi]

Takumi didn't even flinch at the passing kunai. He was ready for an attack, and they were nowhere near their mark unless there was someone behind him, which was extremely doubtful.

"An enemy, then," he thought. "And obviously not used to the mist, if the aim is anything to judge by. That means I have the advantage."

He started to charge, forming the hand signs for one of his jutsu, when he noticed the figure turn and run.

"Great. That figures..." he thought as he gave chase, running deftly across the familiar terrain. "No point in using my jutsu yet, then, it'd only slow me down... Well, at least I closed some of the gap, and I doubt anyone knows this area like I do... Sometimes spending more time out of the village than in is a blessing."

[Hishime]

Footsteps were slightly audible behind her. She mentally cursed to herself. She knew from the beginning that it would follow her, but that didn’t change the fact that she didn’t like it. Plus, there was a huge change the figure thought of her as an enemy. Although she thought the same way about him or her.

The figure was faster than her, and also older, no doubt. It wouldn’t take long until he or she had caught up with her. Quickly, she took two more kunai. She jumped, quickly turning around as she was high in the air, and threw the kunai. This time, she was aiming for the figure itself, and wouldn’t miss unless it would dodge or block. Smoothly, Hishime landed on her feet again and continued her attempt flee.

This person was following her, which wasn’t a good sign. The young woman was ready for a fight, but wouldn’t have the advantage. She was tired from her traveling, and the running. And older injuries also wouldn’t make it easy for her to give the fight her all. Either way, if she had to, she was totally ready.

[Kirihara Takumi]

Takumi watched as the figure leapt up into the air and launched two more kunai at him, this time with much better aim.

"They'll lose time with that, but they won't lose me."

He twirled to the side just enough to dodge the attack, catching the kunai in his flowing robes as he ran. Slipping them into his robes with the rest of his tools, he picked up the pace. He was catching up. While that aligned with his goals, it also meant things could get a lot more dangerous soon, and while Takumi hoped it wouldn't come to an all-out battle, chances of the enemy simply giving in once caught were slim.

[Hishime]

The footsteps became louder. This was a sign that the kunai hadn’t done anything useful. The figure was catching up. Hishime thought quickly. Throwing more kunai would only be a waste of time and weaponry. And she wasn’t fast enough to lose the person just by running.

A small part of her was getting scared and starting to panic, while the other part wanted to fight. It was only a matter of time until her legs would give in, that would be a ‘game over’ for her. She couldn’t keep this up much longer.

With that in mind, Hishime put almost all of her energy in one last run. She managed to quicken her pace, but only for a short amount of time. Soon, the figure had caught up again. She was slowing down this time, her breathing heavily and irregular.

The shinobi took a quick glance over her shoulder. The figure still wasn’t fully in sight, but she could at least see that it was male. She couldn’t guess his age, but he was probably around twenty. Still she wasn’t sure, Hishime herself, in fact, looked older than she was. There was a chance that he would be her age, that would be around sixteen.

Hishime turned her head to look forward again, cursing to herself for not being able to lose the unfamiliar man.

[Kirihara Takumi]

Takumi blinked when the figure slowed and glanced back at him. So it was a kunoichi, looking to be around his age...

"Who would've thought I'd be chasing girls," he mused with a slight smirk, but frowned quickly afterwards. "Focus. No time for jokes."

Takumi had plenty of energy, not having been doing much earlier, so it might be a good idea to just chase her until she wore out, but the further he got from the village, the less familiar he was with the terrain. While he was still well within the areas he knew, there was no telling how far they'd end up if he let this go on. Deciding to close the gap, he shot forth with all speed, his guard raised and his senses keen, ready for whatever she might throw at him.

"Hmm... another bad joke," he sighed to himself as he came close enough to see his opponent clearly. Black hair, and very impractical clothing... "She must be really cold," he thought. Normally he'd feel sorry for her, but this was an enemy. He couldn't let feelings affect his judgment. Besides, it'd be an advantage for him. Slipping the kunai he captured earlier down through his sleeves, he held them at the ready, waiting for her to either make the first move or for him to catch up completely.

[Hishime]

Hishime gasped slightly as the man was suddenly right next to her. He had finally caught up with her, but it wasn’t over yet. The young woman turned to look at him, her eyes cold and emotionless. Coming to a stop, she quickly jumped backwards and flipped, landing at safe distance.

With another kunai in her hand, she eyed the man. She glared at him. Still not knowing who he was or what he wanted, the girl got into her fighting stance. Her left hand in a fist in front of her, with her right hand holding onto the kunai, close to her chest. Her feet where slightly separated for balance.

Finally deciding to end the uncomfortable silence, she spoke with a quiet but clear voice. “What the heck do you want from me?”

[Kirihara Takumi]

Takumi was surprised at the stranger's question, but held his fighting stance all the same.

"My apologies, but I believe the question is, why did you attack me?" he replied calmly, studying his opponent. Her eyes were green like the ocean... Takumi smiled slightly at this - he normally connected things to the ocean, but her eyes really were that way. The kunoichi was obviously cold, and seemed rather worn out as well.

"That couldn't be from our little chase just now..." he thought. "It's a shame, I really should have just let it go on until she ran out of energy. Too late now, though."

[Hishime]

‘My apologies, but I believe the question is, why did you attack me?’ The man replied as calmly as nothing happened. The fifteen year old narrowed her eyes, sending another glare. Suddenly noticing a small smile on the man’s face, her angry expression changed to a more curious but still pissed off look.

“That doesn’t answer my question.” Hishime said. Her voice was colder and also a bit louder this time. The truth was, that she really was getting angry. Well, actually more annoyed by the fact that he had caught up with her.

“Even if I had not attacked you, you would’ve still followed me.” She said this like it was a statement. The young woman was positive that it was true, and she wanted an answer.

[Kirihara Takumi]

"Hmm... I suppose that's true, isn't it? My deepest apologies, but I was not expecting to see anyone there," he sighed, bowing as low as he could without sacrificing his guard. "It's not often that I see suspicious figures lurking in the mist, you understand. Pardon my rudeness. I simply wished to investigate. Still, I would like to have my question answered. You see, while it's reasonable for a native to be suspicious of those wandering about his land," he said, gesturing up towards his headband. "... I do not believe that this applies to you, correct? And when you attacked, the only reasonable conclusion was that you were at the very least not friendly, so I could not allow you to escape. But please, back to my question?"

[Hishime]

The kunoichi raised an eyebrow. She had to admit, he was talking a lot for this kind of situations. Just one short sentence would be enough. An annoyed sigh came from her slightly shivering lips. Her gaze dropped, now more directed at his feet. Then, out of a sudden, she gave a short laugh.

“Do you think I had expected anyone to be here?” She questioned, her tone rather a bit rude than polite. She guessed this would be enough for him to understand. It was pretty obvious, actually. It was basically the same story as his.

The young woman shivered again. Her mouth was partly opened; she was still panting. Her breath just simply faded in the thick, cold mist. She truly was tired, and it was shown in her eyes.

[Kirihara Takumi]

"Hmm... once again, you make a good point..." Takumi frowned. He noticed the woman shiver, and sighed. "You must be freezing... I don't suppose you would like to borrow one of my robes...? I'm sure I've got a spare here..."

He carefully drew a tightly folded blue silk robe from one of his sleeves, keeping his eyes on the kunoichi in case she decided this was her chance to strike.

"It's a little wet, I'm afraid, but what isn't with all this mist? Besides, it's much warmer than what you're wearing..." he said sheepishly.

While he did wish to help her, he also offered this as a precaution - if she wore this in her condition, he would be able to employ a jutsu to disable her if he needed to... but there was no way she could know that. He had come up with the jutsu himself.

"Ah! I'm sorry, where are my manners? I am Takumi, Kirihara Takumi, at your service... or at least humbly in your presence," he said with a bow.