Pencils Down

It was that time in the afternoon nearly every student looked forward to. Classes were over for the day, and all the young ninja hopefuls were released back into the world where they could show off what they learned, continue practicing, or simply take it easy until tomorrow. After paying respects to the instructor and waving farewell to the few she socialized with, Komogi exited the classroom and rounded a corner as quickly as she could without appearing suspicious. Once she was out of sight, she let out the breath she'd been holding in and gasped for air like she'd just been chased through the halls.

"That was..scary!!"

To some it was just another day, but lately Komugi felt like the instructors were really ramping up the lessons. In truth, she'd already been at the academy for awhile, and the idea of graduation was quickly becoming a reality. It should have been expected that the students' knowledge would start to be tested, but Komugi was not ready!

"I am still struggling with the three needed to even graduate"

"Me too.." Komugi sighed, lowering her head while remembering what Mika said during their impromptu jutsu training session. She then considered one technique in particular. "How does sensei make it look so easy? I might be able to clone myself, but how can I transform into someone else on the fly? Is there a cheat?"

Lifting her head, Komugi came from around the corner and squinted her eyes. As she walked, she looked at each student she passed carefully, craning her neck until her chin was almost over the shoulder of some, and never minding the uncomfortable looks they might give her. From an outside perspective, it could look like she was mean-mugging everyone.

With classes just haven gotten out, the young Sashigame had decided to meander about the academy grounds. He had been excelling in just about everything that the school had required him to understand for graduation and had even gone on to learn things outside of the scope of an academy student. By this point in time, he must have been about on par with a genin at the very least! Aside from the shurikenjutsu portion of the final exams, Shiroe likely had this whole thing in the bag.

It was thanks to the fact that he had been doing so well that he had been walking around without really anything in particular in mind. Well... Juist about nothing anyways. He had recently made his first friend with one of the other academy students but it had been a couple of days since they had seen each other last. 'I really should see if I can find her at some point. I'm sure that she would be glad to hear of how far I have come in the time since I have seen her. Even mother was impressed with everything that had happened up to this point. Although... The training itself had brought up some rather strange things. I really hope that I can figure out what is going on with my chakra.'

It had been only a couple of days since he had undergone an intensive training regime with his mother and since those horrific visions had bombarded his mind. The mere thought of what he had seen had been enough to send chills down his spine. He really didn't want to have to relive any of that.. At least he had known how to protect himself from those damned demonic illusions for next time. Not that he would allow for there to be a next time.

Several minutes would pass as Shiroe had aimlessly wandered the halls. He hadn't really been paying attention to anything in particular and had honestly kind of faded his surroundings into the background. The individual chakra signatures surrounding him had been rather easy to pick up on at this point and honestly, it was almost as though he could pinpoint specific people now if he were to focus on one. He had been considering reaching his sensory chakra further outwards to attempt to locate his newfound friend when he had bumped into someone. This had caught him entirely off guard and would bring his attention solely to the person that he had bumped into. The one that he had bumped into had been a fair-skinned girl.. One that had a rather thin build overall, spectacular light orange hair, and of course an ensemble that had made quite the use out of an orange leotard.

"O-oh! My bad, my bad. I didn't see you there." Feeling only a smidge guilty for having bumped into this girl, Shiroe would attempt to apologize. As he would do this, his right hand would awkwardly scratch at the back of his head and an uncomfortable laughter would escape from his lips. He had never seen this girl before, or was it more apt to state that he had never really taken notice of this girl before? The two had been in the same class after all. Other students just hadn't really meant all that much to him. What had mattered the most was his training. That was what had really ever mattered. Not to say that he didn't want friends though... "I'll be sure to pay more attention to my surroundings."

[Post Word Count: 594 | Total Word Count: 594 | Chakra: 150/150 | Stamina: 50/50]

Unlike Both Komugi and Shiroe, who had enjoyed a rather simple day of classes, Mika was taking notes, something she had gotten very good at, details, diagrams, they were all filled in, copied from the board, any things commented on by the teacher was added, and when the Instructor took a moment to step out, Mika had to deal with the bullies in her class who would begin picking on the other kids that they had seen as less skilled, or weird. It was something that, had she not already somewhat suffered it before, she would have found it rather grinding at her morale, but now? she was using it so it didn't bother her, she would just sit there, the bullies making their taunts and calling her names, they never did anything physical, maybe because she was barely average at Taijutsu and it seemed the only one she was any good at, so they maybe worried she would use it? She was basically nearly as seemingly skilled as the bullies, though they were better over all, at least she let people think she was weaker.

And then they would scatter back to their seats when their accomplice would warn them that the instructor was coming back, it was never overly Subtle ether and Mika had started to wonder if the Instructors were aware of what was going on and simply letting it happen, after all they would be split up eventually, they would have to trust their lives to each other eventually, a bully suddenly having to realize they may be on the same time as someone they bullied might find themselves with a target on their back, Or more likely it was due to the fact that as Ninja the Instructors thought some amount of toughening up would do them some good considering what kind of job they would be doing once they were done here, possible injury, dismemberment, death.. Name calling and some Bullying barely held a candle to that kind of danger... if someone Crumbled to that then what good would they be as a shinobi? At least she assumed that was the thinking.

Then again it could also cause a great deal of resentment, resentment like that could lead people to do any manner of horrible things later on, it was really hard for her to tell what the reason to let the bullying happen was, or maybe they did deal with it but in a manner most didn't see? Long story short her classes usually included her getting ridiculed or picked on whenever the bullies thought they could get away with it.

But the final bell did ring, releasing them all from their duties as student, and it was from that moment Mika noticed that unlike usual the Bullies didn't leave right away, this time they were sticking around, and she let out an internal sigh, she had been rather successful evading them outside classes to get her training done, but perhaps she should have let them catch her a few times so they could pick on her outside class, as it now seemed they were really Aiming to try to catch her out of class this time. Well not much she could do while being observed, so rather then wait like she usually did she simply grabbed her things, got up, and headed out into the halls, and she noticed the bullies following.

Now the best thing about being as small as she was, was that she could easily slip into a crowd and wave between people through gaps most wouldn't make it through, and so she started to do just that, which helped her a great deal in making distance between her and the bullies, she then ducked down a corridor she rarely used and started to move a bit faster to get more distance, before she slipped into a classroom and waited, the bullies ended up passing by and she slipped out and headed back the way she had come quite pleased with her little maneuver, it wasn't anything great of course, but she did it with out relying on anything other then just moving at a normal pace for the supposed lack of skill Student she was so it made her smile a bit to herself.

As she walked down the hall though she noticed two people bumping into each other, normally she wouldn't bother and just keep going, she had some training to do after all, but then she realized that the two people where Shiroe and Komugi, she smiled a bit and started to head over, going down the hall towards them only to cross another hall and hear familiar voices complaining, looking over she seen the Bullies wandering down it towards their hallway and so Mika sped up a bit to get to Shiroe and Komugi, walking around the two so she was out of sight of the bullies.

"Hey Komugi Hey Shiroe, I see you two have run into each other" she said with a giggle as she made her horrible joke, though she was talking a bit lower then usual so the bullies wouldn't pick up her voice in the busy hallway. but it would easily be heard by her two friends who where right in front of her, so maybe they wouldn't notice, last thing she wanted was to get them involved in dealing with her bullies, which was something she was already planning to do hopefully during the tests when she preforms well enough to pass. That was the hope anyway, though considering the situation she found herself in now it was quite likely that Shiroe will attemp to help her out like he had in the library but in a more direct manner... which it would be really hard to stop him this time... Or the bundle of energy that was Komugi would try to do so, or perhaps both of them at once, and really trying to stop one of them was going to be near impossible, she wouldn't even try if both attempted to stop things, she would just have to hope they didn't notice the bullies.. or hear them in Shiroe's case since he had heard their voices before, and also hope that the Bullies didn't hear her voice, or Komugi and Shiroe saying her name.

[PW= 1,057]
[TWC=1,057]
[Chakra: 75/75]
[Stamina: 275/275]

The bump from behind shouldn't have caused so much chaos, but caught up in her self-imposed study, Komugi was taken completely off guard and knocked right off her heels. Tipping forward, the girl waved her arms frantically while on the ball of one foot until she regained her balance, then spun around to face the person who nearly pushed her over. Her brow lowered deeply and her chin jutted out as she investigated the assailant, but her expression quickly relaxed when she met a pair of blue eyes and their owners' apologetic countenance.  

Komugi stared blankly at the boy for a moment, then closed her eyes and lowered her chin between her index finger and thumb. She seemed to be pondering something, but just before the silence became too uncomfortable, her eyes popped open and her head snapped up like she'd had a revelation.

"It's the eyes!" she shouted, then refocused on the one in front of her. Both hands flanking him, she slapped her palms against the boys' shoulders, then lightly repeated the gesture a couple times if he didn't react too poorly. "Don't worry about it," she said with a friendly smile. "I'm going to be stealing your eyes later though. Oh! Not like that, but-..Ahahaha!"

Realizing how that all probably sounded, Komugi released the boy and laughed awkwardly while drifting backward. With one hand in front her mouth, she waved the other between them as if to say 'forget what I just said', and looked for an escape. If this interaction hadn't done so already, trying to explain was only going to make her look like a dummy - or so she concluded - so it was time to abort.

"Ah - Mika!"

Hearing her name, Komugi turned to see a familiar face and greeted her friend so loud one might think she was trying to alert Mika's pursuers. Running over to the other girl, she latched tightly onto Mika's left arm with both of her own, even if it meant having to crouch some in order to make up for their difference in height. She then looked back at the one referred to as "Shiroe".

"You two know each other? Are you friends? Rivals? Lovers?! Does he think I'm going to steal you away from him?!?" Komugi rattled off the questions one after another with little room for intervention, causing herself to overheat and turn red as her imagination ran wild.

Just about anything could have happened in response to his having bumped into this light orange haired girl but the actual events that had taken place had entirely caught the young Sashigame off guard. Despite this having been the first time that they had met one another, this girl had been placing her hands all over his shoulders and making comments on stealing his eyes. Shiroe... honestly wasn't quite sure how to react in response to the things that she had just said and done. Part of him had wished to simply bow on out of the situation but his body had refused to move. His cheeks had begun to burn a bright red as he had tried to determine what it was exactly that this student had meant. The other part of him however had been on his guard. If she had been speaking plainly and truthfully about planning on stealing his eyes, he would likely have to defend himself in the future. Should he really allow for a potential threat against his safety to remain?

Speaking of potential threats... Were those the voices of Mika's bullies in the background? If things had continued at the rate that they had been going with the encroaching enemies and intensive training than Shiroe was going to be a very busy boy in the future. Thankfully these thoughts would go on to pass as a familiar voice had spoken up from nearby, diverting his attention away from the horrid intrusive thoughts and directly upon a rather familiar face. Mika. The girl that he had encountered in the library that had set him down a path that even he hadn't thought possible. One in which he would have friends and a reason to push himself past his limits.

A soft smile would begin to begin to overtake his features as he had turned his full attention towards Mika, almost forgetting about the fact that he had just bumped into someone and practically knocked her off of her feet. "Mika.. It's nice to see you again." The awkwardness that had inflect in his tone previously would disperse as he had come to speak to his one and only friend. Even his cheeks would begin to lose their tinge of red at the mere sight of her. Well.. they had been undergoing such an effect anyways, before Komugi had questioned whether or not they had been lovers. If anything, after Komugi had said those words, Shiroe had been a deep enough red to match that of a tomato.

Not sure of how to react to everything that had so suddenly begun to happen, Shiroe would crouch down onto his knees and begin to cover his head with his arms. He had been so embarrassed at the thought of people overhearing what Komugi had just said that he had subconsciously begun to try and hide away from the entire situation. It very clearly wasn't going to work out the way that he had hoped though. Even with all of the rigorous training that his mother had been putting him through, when it had truly come down to needing to find his way out of precarious situation, his mind had simply been overwhelmed. "W-we're just friends! That's all, I swear it!" Clearly Mika was going to have her work cut out for her with these two.

[Post Word Count: 559 | Total Word Count: 1,153 | Chakra: 150/150 | Stamina: 50/50]

Mika winced a bit as Komugi said her name rather loudly, and Shiroe gave his greeting as well She was about to say something further but she was stopped by Komugi who had grabbed her by the arm and the energetic girl then started to ramble on and on, asking how she knew Shiroe and what kind of relationship they had, blitzing through a set of questions and assumptions that Mika couldn't help but smirk at, the girls imagination clearly getting the better of her as Komugi's face was quite red as she finished rattling off the list and then the last assumption, making Mika break out into a giggle that she tried to keep quiet, she was about to answer the hyperactive girl when she heard Shiroe nearly mutter his reply to the questions that Komugi had let spill out of her mouth like a waterfall. The situation was rather humorous to Mika.

So Humorous in fact that she couldn't help but have her giggles turn into laughter, and she fought to keep it down, though it was rather hard.. in fact impossible as she stood there "C...co..come on get up silly..." she said to Shiroe still trying to stop laughing before she gently poked Komugi's nose "Boop!... as for you stop letting your mind go to weird places" she said still giggling to herself now.

The noise however had drawn the bullies over, well the noise the sudden drop of someone to their knees and the yell of Mika's name all together had caused the bullies to come over. and they started to smirk a little as they spotted her "Hey you two should probably not hang around Failfield here.. she can barely even do anything in the classes, you wouldn't want her lack of skill to rub off on you" the larger one in the group mentioned, just by looking it was clear he was a Hoshigaki clan member, or at least he had some ties with the look of him, though he was rather rotund, the other bullies where chuckling a bit, one tall and extremely lanky, there were a set of twin brothers in the group, and finally a girl as well, who was rather plain looking.

Mika mentally sighed as she heard that stupid pun on her last name, well there went any hope of avoiding the bullies, she just hoped it didn't result in a fight, or a yelling match or anything like that, she really didn't wanna have to deal with getting into trouble, hopefully both Komugi and Shiroe would decide just walking away would be the best Idea, the exams would be up soon for graduation, and she already had everything she needed trained, and then some, she just needed to get a few more things dealt with and ready, a few more techniques to use, a few Items, and some special training as well to make her more effective with a few other items she could get her hands on later. But for now she looked at the Bullies and then to Komugi and Shiroe and she spoke up.

"Come on guys classes are over lets go do something fun" she said to the two of them hoping they would leave this situation alone, and not try to start anything... then again considering they were in a school for ninja she doubted that the walk away option would happen, especially with how energetic both Shiroe and Komugi tended to be, at least from her experiences with them so far anyway.

[PW= 590]
[TWC=1,647]
[Chakra: 75/75]
[Stamina: 275/275]

As soon as Komugi's nose was poked, the heat and redness that had been building up in her face quickly dissipated, much like a lightbulb that had suddenly burned out. Having lost her train of thought, she blinked a couple times in confusion, then looked over at the boy cowering on the floor. Seeing that it was all a misunderstanding - judging by the way Mika was giggling away - she went over while removing her cloak and threw it around his shoulders.

"There there," she cooed while kneeling beside Shiroe and gently rubbing his head. "I was only kidding about all that stuff. And did you know? It's kinda impossible to hide here in plain sight."

"Hey you two-"

The voice was clearly hostile, but Komugi looked up at the Hoshigaki and his gang of followers with an inviting, kitten-resembling smile. Having never heard Mika's surname, and with no knowledge of her clan, she didn't really understand what he was going on about, so she simply tilted her head to the side. He was clearly talking about a girl, though, which ruled out herself and Shiro, so she curiously looked back at Mika.

""Failfield"?"

Reading her friend's reaction, Komugi could tell something wasn't right, and Mika didn't want to engage the situation. Though her first instinct was to leave it alone and follow, Komugi lost the battle with a snicker she'd been trying to stifle and a *pfft* sound slipped through her lips as she moved to stand up. Unable to hold back any further, she turned back to the group and burst out laughing.

"There's no one here with such a silly name! Are your own grades getting your tongue all mixed up? Maybe you'll fail better after a snack? Oops, now I'm doing it too!"

Komugi held her belly as she laughed from her own joke. There was a tinge of mockery in the way she did it though, making it hard to tell if she was making fun out of the situation, or directing it right at the group.

Upon hearing Mika's rather delightful laughter, Shiroe would begin to calm down a smidge. It hadn't really been as effective as it might have usually been though, considering the fact that the young Sashigame had been worried that she had perhaps been laughing at him and the way in which he had been acting in response to Komugi's words. Honestly, the entire ordeal had been rather embarrassing overall. This entire display was something that he hadn't wished to be putting on in front of Mika but he simply couldn't help it.

As Komugi would unpin her hooded black overgarment and would rest it upon his shoulders, the remainder of his overwhelmed emotions would begin to settle down a bit. He wasn't quite sure why it was that this had been as effective as it had been but for some reason, having this cloak set upon his shoulders had been rather soothing. If nothing else, it had been enough for him to speak up to the girl that had begun to gentle rub away at his head. His voice had been rather lower in tone, just above that of a mumble, but it had been there. "...I know that, ya goof. I just couldn't think of anywhere else to go in the moment... W-we aren't lovers or anything like that.. just friends."

Unfortunately, it was around this point that chakra signatures of the bullies that had been harassing Mika would come within range. Before they would even fully arrive, Shiroe's gaze would peek out from behind his arms. If one were to pay any sort of attention to his eyes, they would be capable of seeing a complete demeanor change in the boy for a moment. It had been but a ghost of a moment in which it would happen, but during that time Shiroe's gaze had been filled with nigh murderous intent. 'How dare these people come out here and try to pick on Mika yet again. I had tried to let things pass as they were but now... I swear, I could rip them to shreds without a second thought!' Obviously Shiroe wouldn't go out of the way to share these thoughts with anyone but the building rage had been rather noticeable even without him having said anything.

Shiroe could already feel his hands beginning to subconsciously start to form hand seals for a very particular jutsu that had left him mentally incapacitated not too long ago. If he had been actively channeling his chakra as he had done these hand seals, things would not have ended well for the Hoshigake and his friends. Thankfully he hadn't been pushing himself to perform any such misdeeds at the moment. Not not, while Mika and her companion had been here. Speaking of which, the mockery that had begun to take place from Komugi had begun to relieve a bit of tension in Shiroe's heart at the moment. It was almost as though her actions had been placating him for the time being. That, paired with Mika's words about heading off to do something fun, would stall the Sashigame long enough for him not to lash out.

Almost as though he were performing a complete one eighty, Shiroe would rise up from the ground and offer the group of bullies a close-eyed smile. He had to force himself to be somewhat amicable with these kids for the time being and this had been the best way to go about it in his eyes. "It's as she says, I'm afraid. No one here that goes by that name, right Mika?" The Sashigame would than wrap a shoulder around Komugi's shoulder and while continuing to smile at the Hoshigake that had been just across from him. Shiroe's eyes would slowly begin to open as his gaze had focused solely on the Hoshigake, a lethal intent buried beneath his eyes. "You should really get going now. The three of us plan to have a good time together and we would much rather not have to deal with uneducated fools like you."

[Post Word Count: 677 | Total Word Count: 1,830 | Chakra: 150/150 | Stamina: 50/50]

Whelp, so much for not engaging the bullies, The moment their leader called her by the pun on her name both Komugi and Shiroe fell right in and said there was no one here by that name, Mika let out an mental sigh, but she also mentally smiled, it was nice they were trying to defend her, and hell while the bullies were annoying they at least kept her whole, horrible student story nice and firmly in place with their teasing, after all if she was a good student would she be letting them get away with this? Hell would they be picking on her to begin with if she had shown any skill in at least Taijutsu? She honestly didn't know, but she did know that some of what she was taught at the Cloister was true about them being more respectful to clans that had well known ancestry of Ninja or helped the Village out a lot in war time, otherwise she would assume she would be getting a bit more help then just these two, though then again she was also an outsider to the village, not to the land itself mind you, just the village so maybe that played a part? target the 'other' in the group since there was little chance they had friends yet.

As she thought this she looked over at Komugi and Shiroe as the Bullies laughed a bit, the leader speaking up [colo=red]"Calling me uneducated when you don't even know someones last name? What she hiding it from you? Look guys to get friends she didn't even tell them her name... I bet she didn't even tell them how she likely isn't gonna be passing ether, not with her lack of skills at basically anything, the only thing she's good at is taking notes.. if she was only half as good at anything else as taking notes she would probably be passing"[/color] the group laughed as they continued to lay into her before the Bully looked at the two again "You two really should learn who your hanging out around, she's not even from this village, she came here from out in the country, I am surprised she can even read and write" They continued on.

Mika mentally smirked, yup right where she thought they would go, well maybe in the wrong order then she thought though, but so far they hadn't insulted the two standing in front of them, likely cause they were both from the Village, and maybe the Hoshigake was still trying to figure out what clan they were from before laying into them? If Clan was that important then that was likely what he was doing, it was ether that or it was cause he had nothing to bully them about other then their connection to her. Honestly the whole situation made Mika want to laugh, but she held it in and bit her lip instead as well as clench her fist to suppress the urge to laugh, this of course had the effect of making her shake with her back to the bullies and her two friends, her head hung low as she fought off the need to laugh making tears well up in her eyes at the Absurdity of the situation.

Here she was, getting bullied, like she was back in the Cloister, but she was THANKFUL for it, she never expected to be this thankful to be bullied in her life, but it was happening, and it was not only not causing her any real grief, it was something she was GLAD happened in full view of everyone in the hallway, who had already started to gather around, thankfully the hall ways she was facing was empty so no one would point out her trying not to laugh, as she was totally unaware that all her attempts to not laugh made it look like she was crying. Asshe stood there she heard the bully speak up.

"Awww I think he made her cry again guys.... can't grasp Ninjutsu... can't grasp Genjutsu, can barely do Taijutsu... and now she can't even take a few mean words... By the Kage she would make a horrible Ninja! but what should you expect from Failfield!" he and the other bullies started to laugh.

Mika lifted her head shaking even harder, her eyes scrunched up, and biting her lips even more as her fists were clenched tightly, and tears running down her cheeks, she looked like she was righting back tears and horribly losing, but she was trying so hard to not laugh and lose her composure, and every time she tried to take a deep breath she nearly started to burst out laughing forcing her to take short rapid breaths instead, it all really did make her look pitiful, not that she thought that, she was absolutely sure someone would call her out as trying to not laugh she was totally unaware that her attempts to prevent laugher were looking exactly like she was on the verge of breaking down and crying.

But it was all just so damn funny... Bythe Founders Mika wanted to just start laughing and then beat the bullies up using the Hoshigake all the while laughing at the total absurdity of it all, instead she took a step down the empty hall way and managed to choke back her laughter though it strained her voice making it sound like she was trying to not burst out crying. "l...lets go guys..... Please..." she said without turning her back, her head lowered again, she couldn't say anymore, if she tried she would lose the battle on not laughing, if she spoke she likely wouldn't be able to hold on and likely would reply to the bullies, and all that would ruin all the work she had done to seem as incompetent at Jutsu as the Bully said she was, Hell she was sure her holding back her laughter like this was doing some damage to that story, or perhaps it would make people think she was slightly deranged, once more the girl was totally oblivious that her attempts to not laugh made it look exactly like she was trying to not openly cry.

[PW= 1,039]
[TWC=2,686]
[Chakra: 75/75]
[Stamina: 275/275]

Komugi smiled inward as she watched Shiro move to his feet. He seemed much calmer now, even smiling rather confidently. She wondered what sort of zinger a person like this was capable of delivering, but things went differently than she expected. He backed her up, of course, with Komugi managing to cover her mouth and restrain the guffawing to soft giggles while he began speaking, but the tone quickly shifted completely.

Taken by the shoulder, Komugi stopped laughing and let out a small confused chirp. She started to turn her head to look at Shiro, but stopped midway realizing how small she suddenly felt next to him. There was now a particularly menacing atmosphere surrounding the boy, and she felt like it might be dangerous to make direct eye-contact. Instead, she processed his actions through her peripheral.

The things the group leader was saying failed to be anything more than background noise, but Komugi dialed back in when his lackeys started practicing their chorus routine. Her gaze darted from one to the next as they laughed, then settled again on the main speaker. They were an annoying bunch, but he hadn't done much more than pick at Mika's flaws and caution them about her identity. Nothing to get too riled up over.

"Thanks for the tip," she said with a forced smile. Flashing a V sign using her fingers, Komugi prepared to make her exit, but apparently this was less about turning everyone against Mika, and actually getting a rise out of said academy student. As if he didn't hear the implied goodbye, the bully pressed on with his...well...bullying!

Hearing that they made her cry, Komugi forgot about Shiroe's transformation and turned to look at Mika. The smaller girl's back was to them, but the clenched fists were visible and it looked like she was trembling. Komugi's heart sank seeing her friend like that, and as the taunting continued, she squeezed her eyes shut and palms covered her ears while trying to think of a way to reset the situation with everyone's feelings intact. Reality was relentless though, and the laughter easily bled through her makeshift earmuffs. Moreover, she heard Mika's strained voice.

Feeling like a bolt of electricity just went through her chest, Komugi turned to face the bullies. Her body moving without conscious volition, she marched toward the group with their leader in her sights. Never slowing down, Komugi brought both hands up and shoved the Hoshigaki as hard as she could. The problem was, she closed her eyes and turned her head at the last moment, so her aim was off. While her right hand reached for his chest, the left came a bit higher and would palm strike him square in the face.

"Enough already!" she yelled while attacking.

From the events that had begun to unfold, it had become rather evident to the prodigal Sashigame that these damned bullies hadn't known what it was that they were messing with. They had all attended the same ninja academy and yet this group had thought that they could wander around, bully others to their hearts content, and that they would get away with it? Regardless of what her clan had been, or whether or not her family had been one of the many clans spread throughout the Hidden Leaf Village, Shiroe hadn't a care in the world. That is simply due to the fact that worrying about such things was dumb as all hell..! Who cares about any of those kinds of things when it had come down to it?! What matters is that she is here with us now and that she had been working on becoming a shinobi of Konohagakure. That fact would remain true and simple but there had been an underlying reason for why it had lacked any meaning in Shiroe's eyes. This girl, Mika, had been his first and quite possibly only real friend. If this damned Hoshigaki and his flunkeys had believed that they could continue to get away with making fun of her.. Well they had another thing coming.

While Shiroe himself had felt some type of way about the entire ordeal, the others in his small little trio had seemed to be quite affected by the shark-boy's words as well. From the looks of things, the words that the Hoshigaki had spoken had been enough to trigger Mika into believing that he had been right. At least that is how Shiroe had seemed to understand the situation. After all, after hearing the shark-boys words, Mika would go on to turn about, clench her fists, and would begin to shake almost violently. Even with that having been the case though, this Hoshigake kid wouldn't stop there. No, instead he would go on to list several things that she had happened to be struggling with and would say something along the lines of how she could never make for a shinobi.

Having taken note of the way that Mika had seemed to be feeling, the young Sashigame would begin to feel a fire burning up within his heart. His emotions had already become relatively unregulated, considered everything that the pack of jerks had said about Mika up to this point, and Shiroe was beginning to reach his tipping point. That rage that had been lying untapped within him would simply remain sitting just beneath his eyes, ready to lash out at anyone and everyone that would dare to tempt it. It was thanks to this growing rage that Shiroe would have to hold himself back. He had wanted to step forward and rip this group limb from severed limb. Even Mika's strained insistence was beginning to be muted in the background of this all encompassing rage that had begun to well up within him. Just seeing the Hoshigaki standing there all smug like, after having said such horrid things about his companion, had been enough to overwhelm the Sashigame. With each passing moment, his heartbeat would begin to grow quicker. It was almost as though he could hear the sound of his heartbeat quite audibly now.

Despite the fact that Shiroe had wished to seriously maim the Hoshigaki, or at the very least cripple his mind, Shiroe had known that he was going to have to be careful how he had planned on going about such a thing. If he had been remembering correctly, the bloodthirsty Hoshigaki had only been capable of being considered a threat once they had made it as a Shinobi. Whilst still in the academy, there wasn't much that the Hoshigaki could really do when compared to others of their clan. "..you sure that you want to focus on whose Clan actually supports the Hidden Leaf? Because I am almost certain that the Hoshigaki aren't initially from Konohagakure either."

Just as Shiroe would complete his retort, Komugi would shout out at the Hoshigaki whilst simultaneously jutting the palm of her hand out towards the shark-boys face and making contact. Unsurprisingly, this would begin to send the Hoshigaki fella into a bit of a frenzy. Not only had someone just questioned the integrity of his entire clan but he had just been smacked dab in the center of his face! Anyone would realistically be mad if it were them on the receiving end of such actions, but they weren't as mad as Shiroe was about to be. The Hoshigaki's gaze would begin to fall upon Komugi as an intense bloodlust had begun to wash over the shark-boy. Clearly he had intended to lash out at her as well, likely hoping to put her into her place. As the shark-boy would begin to raise their hand against the orange haired academy student though, Shiroe would immediately thrust his free arm in the Hoshigaki's direction, grasping a hold of the boys wrist as the shark-boy had attempted to swing at her. Shiroe's arm that had been wrapped around Komugi would begin to lightly tighten a bit as he would pull her in a bit closer to him, the edges of the black cloak that had hung on his shoulders brushing up against the orange haired girl. "You seem to misunderstand. We are planning on leaving and you will let us be as we head out. I could never allow for you to harm my friends after all."

Shiroe's arm would than begin to remove itself from Komugi's shoulders, his fingers trailing down the side of her arm as he had done as much. That soft, yet sadistic, smile had remained plastered upon his face as he would lean forward and whisper something within the shark-boys ears whilst maintaining a firm grasp of upon the kids wrist. "If you ever lay a hand on either of these girls in the future, or even consider to bully them ever again, I'll make sure that you never walk again."" While his threats had been made low enough so that anyone without some degree of skill in active listening couldn't quite hear him, the effect of the words that he had imparted on the Hoshigaki might have been felt.

[Post Word Count: 1,052 | Total Word Count: 2,882 | Chakra: 150/150 | Stamina: 50/50]
[Shiroe Freeform Speed C vs Hoshigaki Freeform Speed E]
[Shiroe Freeform Reaction C vs Hoshigaki Freeform Strength E]
[Shiroe Freeform Strength D vs Hoshigaki Freeform Strength E]

Mika was still trying to fight back the laughter from the hilarity of this situation, it was basically harmless to her and they could just walk away, she didn't know Komugi and Shiroe very well, they only became friends a few days ago after all and hadn't really hung out all that much, Granted Mika didn't know of the twos different backgrounds maybe they had a lot of other friends? She really didn't know, but she assumed when she asked for them to just go they would, after all why put up a fuss right? It was just some name called and insults, and they didn't really know her all that well. They were good people though she knew that much about them from when they tried to defend her already, But fighting was something she didn't expect.

That's why When she heard Shiroe retort about the origins of the Hoshigaki she was a bit stunned, considering the place they held in the Leaf now, at least from what she understood of her review work before coming to Konoha, the Clan was well received in the Village, and she didn't know if their origins were a sore spot or not, but to question a clans loyalty from what she understood was quite the insult, though what surprised her next was the yell from Komugi and then the sound of a strike which was then quickly followed by the Hoshigaki Howling in pain and surprise for a second. The laughter died in Mika at that point, did.. did that bundle of positive energy just smack the bully? Were they really starting a fight over this? Mika looked over her shoulder at what was happening in time to see the bully clearly about to strike Komugi.

Now Mika was tempted to jump in to intercept the hit, she was sure Komugi could handle it or maybe dodge it, but at the same time the girl had smacked the bully because of what he was saying about her, and while she had much greater reaction time then most there, she was stunned by the fact that Komugi had even smacked the guy in the first place, though she recovered fast enough and was about to jump in when Shiroe did that instead, Moving quite fast for an academy student and making Mika wonder how much training he had done to get that fast, though granted he was still slower then her but he was easily far faster then the bully was, that was something to keep note of as well. But for now she heard Shiroe give his warning, and then the boy leaned in and seemed to say something to the Larger bully. Even as the Bully was trying to get his arm free from Shiroe despite the boy being somewhat smaller then the bully.

Well this had taken a Turn Mika had not expected at all and Judging by the look on the Bullies face he hadn't expected to get smacked in the face by a small girl and then being overpowered by a boy that was also smaller then him, Mika would have laughed if she wasn't so stunned at what was happening. Though the bullies buddies seemed ready to jump in on the big guys say so, but instead the guy seemed to glare at First Shiroe, then Komugi then to Mika, as if memorizing their faces before saying out loud to Shiro "Yeah... like to see you try to live up to that.... you can't be there to protect them all the time" a cruel smile on his face as water enveloped his arm allowing him to slip out of the boys grip.

The others chuckled a bit as they backed off and the leader started to walk away "We will see you all again later.. just hope your not alone when we do" he smirked as he and his group walked off and the crowd that was expecting a fight had started to disperse.

Mika Looked at Both Komugi and Shiroe, then she wiped the tears from her cheeks from her having to hold back the laughter, the need to laugh gone now though as she looked back at them "Thanks you.. but.. we could have just walked away... now he might do more then just say mean things... and now it looks like he will be targeting you two as well..." she said with a worried sigh as she looked to them but then she smiled a bit "but... thank you.. we should probably go for now, get something to eat or something okay?" she said as she didn't want to remain on academy grounds, mostly because she wanted to just ignore having to let the bullies do what they wanted, though once she could be considered stronger or during the exams she could maybe deal with the issue in a more direct manner.

Till then she just wanted to go have some fun, and then train some more, though maybe after this these two would train more seriously as well? It was hard to say really, but after a situation like that going to do anything else rather then dwell on it was the better option she thought.

[PW= 877]
[TWC=3,563]
[Chakra: 75/75]
[Stamina: 275/275]

"Ah-!"

Feeling the contours of the Hoshigaki clan member's face against her hand, Komugi opened her eyes with an expression of both shock and worry - like a child who just kicked a ball and heard something shatter in the distance. She tried to insist it was an accident, but the words came out garbled as the bully's cries of pain and anger made her nervous. Seeing him prepare to hit her back, Komugi shut her eyes and braced for impact. It was only fair, she decided, since she was the first one to make it physical, and take it further than it needed to go - even if unintentionally. But the hit never came, and instead Komugi felt the sensation of Shiroe moving beside her. Hoping the boy wasn't using himself to shield her, Komugi moved to stop him, but then realized he'd already dealt with the situation using some form of grappling technique.

"It's okay, I-.." she tried, but wondered whether or not she said it aloud. Her voice was drowned out by Shiroe's statement, even if he hadn't been speaking particularly loud. Now free from his protective(?) hold, Komugi took a step back while straining to hear the final exchange, but to no avail. With a soft sigh, she looked at the groupies who she almost forgot about, and wondered, as everyone stood around looking at each other for a moment, if things were about to get out of control.

Surprisingly - or maybe not so considering how easily overpowered their leader was - the bullies took their leave, but not without a few parting words. Turning her head to the side with a look of irritation, Komugi thought about how close she was to graduation and how her last days were going to be spent watching over her shoulder for an ambush.

We really went too far, she thought with an internal sigh.

Hearing a thanks, Komugi spun to check on Mika with a look of concern. She was still completely convinced that her friend had been crying due to the bullying. But even if that had been the case, Mika was the only one who acted appropriately, and Komugi looked rather ashamed for having resorted to violence instead of walking away. She perked up though when a second thanks came without a "but" behind it.

"Don't worry," she said brightly. "Mika, I'm coming over later. We're going to practice all night! You're going to master at least one jutsu, even if it costs me my life!"

Though she ignored the amount of attention they were still getting from the other students, Komugi agreed that they should probably leave the academy grounds. She feared one of the younger students might have also gone to get one of the instructors, and the last thing any of them needed was to be expelled over this incident. Sliding in next to Shiroe, Komugi bumped shoulders with the boy to get his attention. With a wink and the 'OK' ring gesture, she silently thanked him for single-handedly - literally - stopping the fight. She then quickly swiped her cloak back.

"Bye!" she called over her shoulder while disappearing down the hall. Mika may have implied they should all hang out together, but it seemed she was going to go off on her own. "I'll see you in class, Shiroe! And, Mika, I'll..." but the rest was inaudible as she'd already run too far ahead.


[Exit]

Every part of Shiroe had wished to follow up on the threat that he had instilled within the Hoshigaki's heart. No... Not a threat. A promise. For the time being though, it would seem as though such an action was going to need to wait. After all, the slimy bastard of a Hoshigaki had decided to try and slip from out of his grasp to depart. Honestly, it likely wouldn't have been that difficult to remove the Hoshigaki from play with his capabilities. Given just how many prying eyes had been around at the moment though, Shiroe would opt to focus on a separate task instead. He was going to have to ensure that his friends had been okay after everything that had just happened. Before the entire scene with the bully would come to a stop though, Shiroe would speak aloud to the Hoshigaki once more. "Whether I be alone or with the others... My words shall still ring true."

Not wishing to further disclose the events that had just transpired between the trio and the gaggle of gag-inducing bullies, Shiroe would offer the duo a bright smile. Truthfully, this had been yet another nigh swap in his personality that his new friends were likely growing somewhat accustomed to seeing. Hopefully it hadn't scared them off in the future.. but only time would tell when it had come to such things. "Sure, Mika. Lunch together sounds like a wonderful idea..!" Once Komugi had begun to speak on the fact that she was going to need to train with Mika soon, Shiroe would begin to nod a few times. "Honestly, if you really had wanted to go out of your way to learn a few new things, training is definitely the way to go about it. Wish that I could join you guys but I can understand wanting some quality girl time or whatever."

A simple shrug was all that Shiroe could offer in response as he would begin take note of how close Komugi had been to him at the moment. Not only had she been bumping shoulders with him but she had even begun to wink about him? This Komugi girl was certainly an interesting specimen to say in the very least. Hopefully they could build something more between one another whilst moving forward and could someday be considered friends. After having seen how she had punched the Hoshigaki in the face, albeit as an accident, Shiroe was certain that this girl would make for some very memorable memories. "Yeah.. See you around Komugi." From there, he would begin to remove the cloak that she had gifted to him earlier. It had been rather clear to him that this wasn't exactly the kind of that he could keep, no matter how comforting her cloak may have been, so Shiroe wouldn't go out of his way to argue with her about it. It had belonged to her, as he property, after all.

A soft smile would begin to stretch upon Shiroe's lips as he would watch the energetic young girl take off. It was possible that she simply had plans elsewhere, but Shiroe couldn't quite tell one way or another. All that he had known was the fact that Mika had still been lingering nearby at the moment. Closing the distance between the two of them, Shiroe would place but a single hand upon one of her shoulders. "If you ever find yourself in any sort of trouble like this again, please be sure to let me know. Or at the very least allow for Komugi to know so that she could help you in whatever way that she could as well. I... understand why you may have been hesitant to discuss your clan here for one reason or the other. Just know that no matter what happens, or what clan you happen to derive from, there shall be no additional judgements about you on my end. From what I can see, you seem to be a rather amazing person. I'll never allow for something like that to get in the way." The sound of bells would begin to dong over and over again as classes had officially been coming to a close more or less. "If you would like to go out to dinner with me for the night... Feel free to let me know. Or lunch of course!!! Just uh.. Yeah, I'll be around." Even after all of the threats that he had just been slinging left and right, Shiroe couldn't help but feel relaxed to be within this girls presence. There had just been something about her that had made everything so much easier for him. Just perks of having a friend, he supposes. Once the two would decide if they were going to get some food together and what he would have to do to make the experience enjoyable, Shiroe would also head out.


[Post Word Count: 821 | Total Word Count: 3,703 | Chakra: 150/150 | Stamina: 50/50]

Well with the situation defused both Komugi and Shiroe seemed to calm down some, that was good, though she did notice the sudden switch from Shiroe, Komugi however... well Komugi was Komugi so that was rather normal for her would be considered strange for other people so it was good to see she was still herself after the incident, She honestly didn't know what had gotten into the positive girl though that made her smack the Taller bully, though she was a bit impressed at the girls apparent confidence in her Taijutsu, Though she did personally take note of the Hoshigaki boys use of Water, it was something she would have to report on later, though it was likely already in the Cloister records but updated information was always something that was needed so the boys name and likeness would be added to a report later, as well as associates if it became important to know what Clans they considered allies or friends from.

Then Komugi spoke with her and mentioned training all night... well considering Komugi's last reaction to her attempt at a clone she wondered if Komugi would be able to sleep after seeing it, already she was planning on how to make it a more horrific mess up, but still somehow show it as progress from before, maybe if she made it have proper colors? Regardless the bundle of energy that was the Girl known as Komugi seemed fine and she raced off, likely to head home and get some things before she came over, Though whatever else she was saying was lost over the distance being shouted over as she headed off making Mika let out a small laugh at the energetic girls exit.

Then Shiroe started to speak, well it was rather obvious that the two of them didn't care about clan or bloodline, something she was again starting to realize wasn't as big an issue in the village as she had first believed, likely the report from before was due to combining all reports for a general outlook of Ninja culture on things, which honestly would be a handy thing to have just to keep one guarded, but it did mean she came to Konoha with the wrong mindset, so she would have to correct that going forward, though Shiroe continued on and she smiled to him as he mentioned he would help and that Komugi would likely help as well before he asked her out to Dinner before he suddenly shouted to correct himself it seemed and Mika couldn't help but giggle a bit.

"Well Komugi said she was coming down tonight, so I can let my parents know that she is coming, if you wanna come too that would be fine, though unlike her I don't think you would be allowed to stay all night" she said in a joking tone as she headed off, She had to commit a few notes to memory, she had quite a few tricks to do that but a simple diary was easy enough to keep and explain if for some reason someone was snooping in her room meaning she could just list out what she learned that would make sense to list for someone that just moved to the village. But for now she wanted to at least get her room set up a bit better for Komugi and possibly Shiroe to be visiting her later in the day if one of both were coming. it was going to be an interesting time at least with friends like them.


[PW= 594]
[TWC=4,157]
[Chakra: 75/75]
[Stamina: 275/275]