[miyake mikio]

CONSEQUENCES BE DAMNED "Nao-nya, quick-quick,” Mikio sing-sung, cheerfully trotting through the grand doors of the academy’s entrance and out into the street beyond, Maru close at her heels. She waved for her student to follow—the poor boy was Mikio’s latest victim, subjected to her errant flight of fancy with no hope of recourse or rescue from the lead instructor of their classroom. "Mimi-sensei has a very important task for you today!” Stationed dutifully curbside was Azuki, stoic and stern-faced, dressed up in a bonnet and shawl like some kind of storybook lupine grandma-pretender. The puma rose to her feet as instructor and student approached, circling Mikio once before affixing Naoya with an unimpressed glare, though the effect was somewhat mitigated by her costume. Delicate embroidery decorated a bag strapped to her chest, bulging and jingling with contents distinctly coin-like. "This old lady needs your help getting safely to the park,” Mikio explained, gesturing to the cat. Her tail flicked, her droopy ears twitching with pride in her creative handiwork. "But! Oh no! There’s a robber who’s going to try to steal all her earthly belongings! As a brave shinobi, it’s your job to keep her safe.” Usually this is where she’d ask for questions and supply cryptic answers, but Naoya didn’t really talk, so instead Mikio just whispered conspiratorially: "If Nao-nya wants to stop, just make an X with your arms, okay?” Azuki had no such patience for shenanigans and had already taken off on her journey, head held high with pride in the face of abject indignity. Gima Naoya -- 255

MADE BY NIGHTBLOOM

[Gima Naoya]

Every day at the academy felt, more or less, like one big chore. Lessons were pretty straight forward but, being that Naoya hadn't been enrolled for very long, very few were practical. A lot of academics, rote memorization, the usual school stuff. To a certain degree, the boy valued that kind of education too. But it wasn't the kind of thing that was going to propel him forward; out of the clutches of the schoolyard.

So, despite a lukewarm disposition, the young boy was ecstatic to be chosen for one of the cat girl sensei's special assignments. He'd heard of some peers going on similar dummy missions before to varying ends. Some swore by the action and excitement posed to them while others complained of how dull it could be. But maybe that's what being a genin was; a slog before the real stuff. And maybe preparing for the slog was important too.

Mikio herself was a bundle of positivity and warmth. If life was a thunderstorm, he imagined she was an umbrella for a lot of people. Though, as he well knew, relying too much on one thing, expecting it to weather and conditions, was a recipe for disaster. Before long your umbrella was broken and collecting rainwater upside down in the middle of the street. Naoya hoped that she wasn't the type to let that happen.

He nodded in acknowledgement of Mikio's instructions, showing his understanding. Generally, assuming the big cat didn't make this more difficult that it needed to be, Naoya was pretty good with animals. The key thing he had that most of his peers lacked in that regard was a supreme respect for their space. He didn't force himself upon them, had a decent understanding of common animals body language, and was pretty in tune with nature besides.

The boy offered Azuki a nod in greeting along with a deliberate couple blinks before jogging to catch up with her as she sped off. He kept a few paces behind her, scanning out ahead of the puma in preparation for whatever robber Mikio had mentioned. He hoped that he could do well in this exercise. How he loathed the daily grind of classwork and lessons. This was real, and he intended to show that he was prepared for more.

miyake mikio

[miyake mikio]

CONSEQUENCES BE DAMNED Once Naoya caught up with the costumed puma and the pair were out of Mikio’s line of sight, Azuki slowed her pace to something more appropriate for the role she was meant to be playing. She wasn’t so cartoonish as to feign a limp, but her pace was the slower, more careful gait of an elderly creature with fragile bones. Naoya would have to consciously slow his pace in order to maintain his vantage point behind her. At this pace, it would take forty minutes at least to get to the park; five achingly slow minutes passed by in companionable silence as cat and boy made their way to their destination. Mikio slid a black ski mask over her face, carefully threading her soft pink ears through ragged holes cut into the crown of her head, and slid into action. For the first stage of her plan, Mikio trailed Naoya at a distance. She was careful to straddle the line between obscurity and obviousness, roleplaying as though she were a civilian bandit without shinobi training—street-smart, careful about hiding in shadows and checking her corners, but without the boons and benefits afforded to her by using different ninjutsu techniques. She would be watching for any moment of vulnerability, waiting for her moment to strike! Gima Naoya -- 213

MADE BY NIGHTBLOOM

[Gima Naoya]

And there were moments to strike abound.

Naoya maintained his pace behind Azuki, wanting to keep her within his sight as much as possible as they traversed. He wasn't a perfect guardian by any means, his head on more of a pike than a swivel, but he did an okay job of checking his surroundings every once in a while. Whether it was due to a lack of experience or a misunderstanding of the seriousness of the lesson, he didn't bother checking his six much, relying on his sense of hearing to cover whatever came up from behind.

Mikio might notice, however, that despite the boy's seemingly calm demeanor, he was quite skittish for what was clearly a mock exercise. His eyes remained locked on Azuki more than anything else; she was his charge and he would not allow her to go undefended.

The pace of the journey itself didn't really bother Naoya. He was a patient kid and enjoyed the more leisurely strolls through the city. If he wasn't on guard duty, or supposed to be in class, he'd probably be doing something similar to this anyway. The hidden rain had a knack for being beautiful, regardless of the temperamental weather. Between the pristinely manicured sidewalks, lush gardens and charcoal backdrop dotted by smears of neon hues, it was hard not to get lost in the beauty.

But Naoya was focused, eyes dead ahead with a hand on his sheathed bokken's pommel and his subject always in sight.

miyake mikio

[miyake mikio]

CONSEQUENCES BE DAMNED This called for a subtle approach! Mikio wanted to see how Naoya would react not to a robber dramatically calling for a fight, which so rarely happened as much as Mikio wanted it to—no, most thieves were subtle and sneaky about their work, more likely to bump into an old lady and slice the strap of her purse than hold her at knife-point and demand all her earthly belongings. Sometimes the second thing happened, but for now Mikio wanted Naoya to experience the first thing first—and if he did well, then they would try the second thing! Mikio pulled up the hood of her jacket to cover her already-covered face, hiding her pink ears and the suspicious ski mask. She picked up her walking pace just enough to be able to pass by Naoya at a comfortable speed—not so fast that it seemed like she was rushing, but just fast enough to outpace both him and Azuki. Once she was alongside Azuki, she feigned a stumble; with a gesture of her finger, a small kunai slipped from her dispenser glove and into her hand. As she threw out a hand to catch herself, she slid the kunai between purse-strap and puma-hide, attempting to relieve it from Azuki’s possession. Gima Naoya -- 208

MADE BY NIGHTBLOOM