[Murahira Rui]

Faster than Light

DAY AFTER DAY, LIKE A LIFETIME AWAY, I KEEP HOLDIN' ON

The light squeaking of rubber open toed boots in a rather quick rhythm signaled that a very very eager young Murahira was out and about again. He had juuuust come back from a rather long mission and thus was on mandatory leave to recuperate, so to speak. Naturally, that also meant that the super eager fox boy was stuck with little else to do but bore himself with menial tasks until the village decided to send him out again... so imagine his happy surprise when he saw a letter of invitation from someone he kind of knew but also someone he did like a bunch.

... well. He kind of liked everyone one way or the other but yeah. He liked the guy.

Thus he was out on the streets, tail waggling about super quick it was probably impossible not to tell that the little bundle of Raiton was excited. Quickly hopping hippity hop hop, Rui made it to the guy's house on the mountaintops. The chuunin's boots squealed to a stop as he stood level with the floors and ceiling, looking on the right to see if his buddy was on the balcony. If he wasn't, the Murahira would scissor kick off the wall, flip and land on said balcony and look inside. Perhaps knock on the windows a bit.

His tail was still wagging.

Yamamoto Shosuke

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First ever post!

deltra of gangnam style

[Yamamoto Shosuke]

Between his time spent in Akazaya prior to the Chuunin Exams and the ongoing work contract with Lord Ichi and by extension the rest of Kusagakure, it seemed like Sho spent pitifully little time in Kumo proper these days. Even when he did spend time in the Land of Lightning, it was almost all whilst doing missions and other work for the village, leaving him little social time to himself.

Though, all in all, this in itself wasn't a problem. Though Sho had coworkers and allies and companions, he didn't really have many "friends" in Kumo. Or, well, many friends in general to be honest. Now, don't get him wrong, he had people like Atagi, and whatever his relationship with Yusei was evolving into, but considering how much his nose was always on the grindstone, he didn't really have time to make friends.

Though, the more he thought about it, maybe that wasn't quite as transient a state as he made it sound. Truth was, he'd never really had many friends, even back in the Academy when he was a kid. Maybe he wasn't that likeable? Food for thought for later.

Either way, the end result was the same - Sho hadn't seen Rui for what felt like a very long time. Though, he hadn't seen anything in a very long time, considering the whole "blindness" thing. When Rui shot up to his "friend"'s window, he was able to see what lay inside and it was different than what he would have remembered.

Compared to the usually orderly and collected frenzy that was Sho's typical mental state, it looked like a bomb had hit the room. Books that should be neatly organized on the bookshelves were littered across the floor or propped open on the desk, one among many that seemed to cover every available inch of the place. The bed was unmade, duvet resting in an enormous propped up collection that looked more like an enormous but blank body-pillow, and the sheets looked like they hadn't been changed in a while. It looked, in other words, like it was long in need of TLC.

Sho, for his part, looked about as much like a human avatar of his room as it was possible to look. His hair was a mess, a pair of thick-rimmed black glasses sat on the edge of his nose, a pair that Rui would notably have never seen before. Though Rui hadn't seen him since his promotion to Chuunin, he was not actually wearing his kumo flak jacket right now and instead was wearing a simple t-shirt and slacks combo, something alarmingly informal even in the confines of his own room. This was a man who had worn a lab-coat to their last evening out, which must have been... oh god, nearly a year ago now, just after Sho had joined the Shinobi Corps again in the first place.

As Rui shot up to stand on the balcony, peering in like a particularly unsubtle voyeur, Sho would react to the man without even looking up.

"You know, Rui, I sent you a letter so we could set up something official. You know, like drinks or something? Though I expect you and formal plans still go together like lighter fluid and dropped cigarette butts. Nice to see your tail still likes me though."

The man didn't even look up from the book he was studying, making it hard to tell he was able to react to something he wasn't even looking at... though, if one was particularly quiet, one could hear Rui's tail cutting through the air like the fan of a motorboat.

"What's up, buttercup? You need something from me or is this a social call?"

621 words | Murahira Rui

SPOILER: Click to show

C-Rank EXP: 1/9
Jutsus Used: None

[Murahira Rui]

Faster than Light

DAY AFTER DAY, LIKE A LIFETIME AWAY, I KEEP HOLDIN' ON

Young Rui seemed to beam with even more happiness when he heard the words of a buddy he really hadn't seen in a long while... only to pout as he saw him reading a book unfazed by his presence. Quickly wiggling into the room proper, the squeaky step would approach the other shinobi with huggable intent. A gloved hand gripped the spine of the book the other hand weaving a custom handsign.

As the book appeared on a shelf in a flash of light and some raiton sparks, the Yamamoto was left to look up at a very pouty face and azure eyes... for about three seconds anyway as Rui just speared the guy in a tight tackle hug.

"IMISSEDYOUIMISSEDYOUIMISSEDYOUSOMUCH" the Murahira squealed all in one breath without pause. Tail was indeed waggling so fast Rui threatened to start hovering off the floor from the effort. All this followed by a machinegun of questions.

"It's been so long how have you been? How long where you waiting here, how long have you been back I haven't seen your name in the gate records why didn't you call me sooner-" Rui let go somewhat, he was still hugging but perhaps less forcefully, as he noticed the room and the state it was in.

"Oh kami what the hell happened here" He would comment, observing for a moment before snapping back to his buddy. He was getting sidetracked.

"Social or business you're staying with me for the day." He stated, playfully yet also matter of fact, without sounding like he was leaving much room for choice. "We are going to go somewhere to chill and you gonna tell me everything about your time away. No buts!"

Yamamoto Shosuke

TAGGED

First ever post!

deltra of gangnam style

[Yamamoto Shosuke]

Shosuke was about to protest to the other man that he didn't remember giving him permission to come in, before the man took the book that Shosuke had been looking at and casting some sort of remote jutsu, causing the thing to disappear from his hand and back onto the (admittedly neglected) bookshelf.

Looking back at the bookshelf where the book had just appeared, Sho had to admit that he was surprised - now, that was something that he had never seen before. In fact, according to what Shosuke understood about ninjutsu, that shouldn't actually be physically possible.

Though the last time they had met each other Sho had done nothing but medical ninjutsu for years, Sho had learned a great deal in the last year. Though he still had yet to obtain a summon contract of his own like Miroru had with her foxes, he understood how the technique worked, pulling something towards your chakra signature. But to push it away, and so specifically? The book hadn't just gone "away", it had gone to a specifically targeted location.

Using the comparison of magnets, one could draw something in but when one wanted to push it away one could only do so in a straight line from the magnetic pole. In order to change where the pushed object went, you had to change the source of the magnetic charge. This obviously was far more specific than that would allow for, and though Sho had yet to admit it verbally it was clear in the fire behind his eyes just how intrigued he actually was by this otherwise meaningless display of power.

So much so that Sho barely even noticed the hug before it was already happening, the other boy's arms wrapping around him. As he did so, Rui would be able to tell just how much Sho had changed in the past year - his previously infirm and slightly doughy body replaced with tightened muscle and a strong physique. The sheer degree to which he had pushed himself was immediately transparent, letting Rui in in just how much had actually changed.

Sho, for his part, let his hand wander up to Rui's head, patting it gently as one might a child. The boy had always been overly excitable, it was just part of his charms, and it seemed that once he got an idea into his head it refused to leave.

However, it was when the boy asked how he had been that Sho felt a sudden dryness in his throat. Did... did Rui somehow not know? His hospitalization had hardly been kept a secret, anyone who gave even a cursory glance at his record knew about him becoming crippled, about losing his ability to see. The bluntness of that question, even unintentional, reminded him cruelly of how Atagi had reacted, immediately bringing it up upon seeing each other again for the first time in months.

"I'm... I'm fine, Rui." Sho lied, unconvincingly. Shifting away from the man, pulling out of the hug, he tried to change the subject as soon as possible. "It's just been..... its been a hectic few months, since the promotion and all. It seems Lady Kizumi is intent on running me through the wringer - I've been put on more missions than I can count, and when I'm not actively doing missions I'm doing some new absurd training regimin. I know I shouldn't complain but its... well, its been difficult."

Grabbing his coat from the back of his chair, Sho moved to follow the other boy the way they came in in the first place - namely, over the balcony and out into the street, not even bothering to say goodbye to his mom first.

"You got some place in mind? You've got a more active social life than I do."

632 words | Murahira Rui

SPOILER: Click to show

Jutsus Used: None

[Murahira Rui]

Faster than Light

DAY AFTER DAY, LIKE A LIFETIME AWAY, I KEEP HOLDIN' ON

Rui snuggled up to his friend as he was pet, a thing he did not do with just everyone. Having someone touch his ears could be seen as a great measure of trust, give just how sensitive they were. He could easily get a headache or dizzy if someone tapped his head in the wrong way.

The young Murahira was slightly sad when his buddy pulled back from the hug, but he knew that he had perhaps invaded his personal space too much. Still, Sho agreed to go out with him, which was a big win in his book. "Good, you better!" He squeaked, waggling a finger at him. He seemed to focus a bit too much on the idea of spending time with Sho to read into his words or give his tired tone too much of a scrutiny. Once again, as he moved, his open toed boot slapped onto a book. He growled lightly at it, thinking that if Sho's mom barged in when they were gone she would probably be mad they left a mess, but he did not want to give Sho a way out of his agreement.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" He crossed his hands and a puff of smoke revealed four other Ruis. That is about... 400% more Rui per Rui. The four copies all grinned and started going around the room, up the walls, on the ceiling, on Sho's bed... everywhere. Once more, each one of them touched an object with one hand and with the same one handed custom seal from before, alot of light strings zipped about the room as various items were sent presto - pronto on shelves or other places so that the space they left was tidy.

The real Rui was instead very preoccupied by holding Sho's hand in his so he could tug him out the way he came... and make sure he would not secretly leave.

Yamamoto Shosuke

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First ever post!

deltra of gangnam style

[Yamamoto Shosuke]

There was something deeply ironic about just how eager Rui was to get this sort of attention; despite the fact that Murahira were supposedly associated with fox spirits, this behavior was far more fitting for a dog or even one of the more domestic breeds of cats. Foxes were far more known for being standoffish and even aggressive at times.

In that way, Hana was far more like what one would imagine a more normal fox person would be. Self-serious, proud, egotistical - they had been an absolute nightmare on the few occasions that they had ended up working together. It was hard to see Rui and Hana as having come from the same culture of people. Just what sort of shared upbringing did they have that could result in such different people?

Either way, the two left, disappearing into the rest of the village without Sho even bothering to clear up the mess that was left in their wake. It did indeed look like a bombshell had gone off, but it wasn't like it mattered - Rui or no Rui, the room had looked like that since the day he had begun his hunt to recover his eyes. If his mother cared, she hadn't showed it.

No, perhaps it was more accurate to say that she cared too much. Despite being a veteran shinobi herself, she hadn't been able to stop herself from doting on him too much from the day he had come home in his current condition. Her precious child was "broken", something like a messy room was nothing in comparison to that. If she had her way, Sho would have been wrapped in bubble-wrap like a breakable vase and he would never put himself at risk ever again.

As Rui's clones began to clean the room, he would find a lot of particular things that would stand out if he gave it even a cursory look. The book that Shosuke had been "reading" was in almost laughably large font, the bins were filled with scrunched up pieces of paper apparently dedicated to trying to reverse engineer some medical technique related to eyes, the more one looked into it the more and more obvious it became just what was going on with the young Shinobi, though there was a reason why Rui was a gateguard and not a member of the village's police force.

Sho for his part continued to hold Rui's hand, leaping from the balcony and down into the village proper. As they moved, Sho's face was clearly one of a man deep in thought, trying to work out what the next step would be.

He wanted to know more about this strange new ability that Rui had developed, but he doubted that would count as "fun" for the young Murahira. After all, if this was indeed Rui's rare day off, he probably expected something more normal like hanging out in the park or getting... Sho didn't know, crepes or something? He wasn't exactly gifted with social finesse, how was he supposed to know what other kids his age did for fun?

"Hey, Rui?" Sho asked eventually, deciding to cross the bridge now rather than waiting for things to get any further afield from the thing he wanted to ask about.

"What was that thing you did earlier with the... I don't wanna say teleportation but that's kinda what it looked like. Is that something you Murahira can do? I got assigned to work with a cousin of yours a while back and she didn't seem capable of anything like that."

If the man wanted something in return for trading the information, Sho would happily give it to him. But he was a scholar, and a scholar lacking information in their chosen specialized field was completely unacceptable.

630 words | Murahira Rui

SPOILER: Click to show

C-Rank EXP: 3/9
Jutsus Used: None

[Murahira Rui]

Faster than Light

DAY AFTER DAY, LIKE A LIFETIME AWAY, I KEEP HOLDIN' ON

Rui's ears perked up as he was called by his buddy. The young Murahira had decided that he and his friend would start their hangout with a slower paced walk, still hand in hand obviously as the young fox guy did not want to lose his friend somewhere, also considering that Sho's reflexes seemed much slower than what it used to be... perhaps he was just tired.

"Oh that? Well no it's not teleportation, but it is a super special jutsu." He would state proudly, puffing his chest out and waggling his tail, before the light squeaking of his rubbery shinobi sandals resumed. "It was super hard to learn too, but once you get the hang of it the whole deal becomes second nature. Basically, boiling it down to uuuh to simple terms... it's super fast movement and I mean super fast. It is so fast it is basically lightspeed fast. You need to visualize where you want the thing you are trying to move and then use raiton chakra to accelerate it to the speed of light. You can use it to move yourself, but from what I have seen you need to be built different to not die or have some other way to avoid having your insides all jumbled up!"

Rui hopped over in front of the Yamamoto, took his other hand in his and started walking backwards as he spoke. It was clear that a Murahira relied more on their ears than their eyes to move about and avoid things or people.

"People call it the Heavenly Transfer Jutsu." He would announce, waving hands up and down. "I was able to get it under control because my chakra is like... super sparkly, so sparkly that I can't really use other elemnts like most people but I can still have super awesome flashy jutsu to use and show off. You know it's really useful for other things too like cleaning rooms or sending stuff back where it needs to be while you're still in bed."

Yamamoto Shosuke

TAGGED

NOTES GO IN HERE

deltra of gangnam style

[Yamamoto Shosuke]

As they walked further and further away from his home, Sho was able to feel the presence of people around him - both other shinobi and simple members of the village, all going about their day to day life without consideration. From what he could feel, more than a few of them were looking in their direction. More accurately, they were looking at them holding hands.

Immediately, Sho's face lit up crimson, redder and more vibrant than any but the strongest fire release techniques. Though he was far from psychic, he didn't have to be to understand what they were thinking as they saw two boys holding each other's hands. He could feel how more than a few of the women watching's hearts began to beat faster, at least some of them were probably... what did they call them? Fujioshis?

Sho had never exactly been one for manga, if he was going to read it was probably going to be a textbook of some variety, but since becoming friends with Atagi he had tried to read at least some of them to have something to talk about with him. He knew how some women went crazy for boys who were into other boys - it was an understandable impulse: it was combining two things that they would have liked on their own, like combining peanut butter and chocolate.

Being stared at like this, it was a little dehumanizing, as if he was some sort of sideshow attraction, but it wasn't enough to make him let go of Rui's hand. He wanted to hold it for a reason, he was sure, and he wasn't going to force him out of his comfort zone.

That said, he was listening with rapt attention to what the boy was saying about the teleportation technique - Rui had learned something that impressive?

Teleportation jutsus were truly impressive things - It was one thing to summon someone or something to and fro, but it required having someone on the other end to receive them. It was teleportation, but if anything it was more like an email sent between two computers. This? This was freeform, loose, it was able to go anywhere and everywhere without limit. Or, at least, without any limits that were obvious to outsiders like himself.

Sho tried to understand what Rui was saying, but so much of it seemed... well, almost absurd. The idea of someone being able to survive moving at lightspeed, or even anything close to it, seemed laughable. Surely the sheer force of gravity would result in you being turned into a stain on the floor?

"Wait, Heavenly Transfer technique?" Sho asked, the name rekindling something in his mind. It was like something that he used to know, or something he had heard of once, but it seemed a little out of reach at the moment.

"So... would I be able to learn something like that? It seems pretty amazing; if you'd be able to share I'd really appreciate it."

497 words | Murahira Rui

SPOILER: Click to show

C-Rank EXP: 4/9
Jutsus Used: None