[miyake mikio]

CONSEQUENCES BE DAMNED On one stereotypically rainy afternoon—it had been raining every day since Mimi had arrived in Amegakure, wasn’t that funny!—a bright, bratty young academy student would find himself carried firmly in the jaws of an elderly puma graying around the muzzle. The attack had come swiftly and silently on the academy training grounds—one moment there was no puma, and the next there was nothing but puma, and the smell of wet cat would be potent as the young Tenka Yujukumono was unceremoniously dumped at the feet of a triumphant junior instructor. "Yuyu!” Mikio cried, pointing dramatically down at the young lad. A few heads turned to look at what was going on—they had definitely made a scene—but Mimi’s antics were becoming more and more commonplace as the months went on, and the great big cat and her tiny keeper were drawing less and less attention every day. "It is time for Yuyu-chan’s pop quiz midterm exam! Mimi-sensei hopes you have been studying because Yuyu-chan will be tested to the very limit of his capabilities!!!” Despite this very grand declaration, Mikio took a seat on a bench in the training grounds, tucking her feet underneath her and patting for Yuju to sit alongside her with a bright, mischievous smile. Tenka Yujukumono -- 208

MADE BY NIGHTBLOOM

[Tenka Yujukumono]

It was a surreal sight, a young boy dragged by a cat far, far bigger than he was by the collar of his shirt like it was the scruff of a young kitten. And like a young kitten when their scruff is pulled, the boy was completely paralyzed by this action, though his paralysis was born from a fear of what might happen if he made any sudden moves. Still, there was a lesson in all this, and the lesson he'd taken from this was that he should never do schoolwork again. Usually the boy preferred playing schoolyard games over doing real schoolwork, but today he had been doing his lessons, honing what he'd learned. And then a giant monster cat appeared out of nowhere and attacked him. This just goes to show what happens when you hunker down and do your lessons like adults say you should, more of their lies!

And then he'd be dumped at the feet of an adult, unmaimed and unhurt. And he'd look up to a finger pointing down at him, a pink haired woman calling out his name with an emphasis. It was like she'd just called him out in class, which made sense since he was staring at his new sensei, Miyake-San. And she was met with a look of pure confusion, his eyes a light blue in the rain mixing with peeks of the sun. W-what?...What is...What WAS THAT THING? IT CAME OUT OF NOWHERE AND ATTACKED ME, IT SMELLED LIKE ROTTING FLESH! His confusion slowly gave way to the delayed panic over the whole puma thing. But before he could ask more, like what he was doing here, she answered for him. A pop quiz. He was scared to the point of almost peeing himself for a midterm quiz.

A...A quiz? But...I was in class today...You didn't... The cap wearing boy had no idea what was going on, it was clear. But as she patted on the seat next to her, he took it after some hesitation. She'd summoned a monster to bring him here, who knew what she'd summon if he refused! What type of midterm is this? Is it gonna effect my ability to graduate? Cause I've been studying on my own time like I'm supposed too!! But...S-Since everyone always asks me for help studying their stuff too I get mixed up on what I've just learned! So it wouldn't be fair if I don't get time to review! It was clear that the big cat thing hadn't effected him too much as he spun one of his tales.

[miyake mikio]

CONSEQUENCES BE DAMNED "Rotting flesh?” Azuki leapt up onto the bench at Mikio’s side—opposite from where she indicated Yuju would sit, as if to give the young boy as wide a berth as possible. Mikio wrapped her arms around the elderly puma’s neck, snuggled her fiercely, and inhaled deep. "She is pretty stinky, hehe. Sorry!” Usually Azuki and Maru were very hygienic creatures, but there was only so much one puma could do when they were getting constantly rained on! She listened patiently as Yuju explained that he wasn’t ready and why, taking the entire tale he spun one hundred percent at face value. "It’s very sweet and kind for Yuyu-chan to help other people so selflessly,” Mikio said earnestly when he was done, "but you don’t have to worry about that! Mimi-sensei doesn’t like textbook-pop-quizzes. This is a heart-pop-quiz!” She never doubted for a second that Yuju was telling her anything other than the truth; after all, why would he lie? Turning in her seat to face him, Mikio folded her hands in her lap and stared very intently into Yuju’s eyes. "Yuyu-chan, the first question of Mimi-sensei’s extra-special heart-pop-quiz is… what is your nindo? What is your ninja way? What makes Yuyu-chan want to get up in the morning and come to school and learn how to be a shinobi?” Tenka Yujukumono -- 221

MADE BY NIGHTBLOOM

[Tenka Yujukumono]

Sharing a bench with an alpha predator, this was new territory for the boy. And he was very visibly on guard, both from one of his teachers declaring a pop quiz and the whole puma within arms reach that could probably eat him if it wanted. Yet the bubbly professor stuck her face into its body, taking in the smell of what Yuju was pretty sure fear was if it had a smell. And the pink haired woman came up smiling after pulling the equivalent of sticking her head in the monster cats maw, admitting that she-beast was a little stinky. Still, Yuju got clawed by regular cats when he tried to press his face against their bellies, so for this woman to pull it off without even a grumble spoke to how tame the big cat was.

And his confidence only grew as this new sensei simply nodded along with his tale, not once questioning him, or pointing out inconsistencies, or calling him a liar liar. In fact, she even praised him. Yeah! And you know, everyone knows how hard I work and how much I give for everyone. I'm sure you've overheard the other sensei's mentioning my name and talking about me! He was doubling down, pushing his lies even further, trying to see just how far he could go. Testing to see if he might just have found his new favorite sensei, someone he could get to side with him every time with his tales.

Though for now, trying to paint himself in such a good light proved unnecessary as the woman revealed that it wasn't a practical exam of what he'd learned. The boys head would switch from confidence to confusion once more, tilting his head at the words "heart pop-quiz". Huh? He clearly wasn't getting it though he was relieved that it wasn't a real midterm. And his puzzled expression would be met with a very intense look from his new sensei, something he hadn't been expecting from the woman who's seemed so carefree. He even found himself retreating a bit, sliding back as she leaned forward hands on lap. Then the first part of the exam came, why did he want to be a ninja, and what was his nindo.

My nindo?... Truthfully he'd never thought about it, his nindo. He had been elected by the clan to go to the academy after he'd volunteered, mostly due to his generation being smaller than his parents from the baby boom that'd happened after the war. He'd liked that, representing his clan, like he was a true Tenka. That was why he wanted to be a shinobi, to prove that he was right and the greatest Tenka. But his nindo? His creed? He actually became lost in thought for a moment, very obviously reflecting on things. And a voice into his head, an old man's voice, the man who the young boy found himself continually gravitating towards.

As far as how I have lived this long, there is a simple answer you would do well to remember. I have purpose. Purpose is what gives a man the strength to surpass their limitations whether that be their physical infirmities, the degradation of one's mind and the ability to mend their shortcomings. The moment you become complacent, that you believe you do not need to change, learn or otherwise evolve with the times is exactly when you become little more than a walking memory.

My nindo... The idea of being a walking memory, of living in the past, he hated it. He saw it all over his clan and it drove him insane, this obsession with the past. Especially when there was a future right in front of them, waiting. And as he thought, his face lit up, an answer obviously found. And he looked up at his sensei grinning, a face that knew it had purpose. Forward. Always.

[miyake mikio]

CONSEQUENCES BE DAMNED Mikio tilted her head, considering what Yuju said. "The others do talk about you a lot!” she chirped, delighted to be able to agree with him. "It’s usually stuff like Yuyu-chan lied about his homework again today, but Mimi-sensei thinks that there’s a little bit of truth in every lie, and the other sensei just haven’t found the truth yet. They’ll get there eventually!” Yuju took a while to answer—he looked like he was deep in thought, and Mikio was happy to wait, swaying back and forth in place and giving Azuki little scritches under her chin and behind her ears as Yuju considered how he was going to answer her question. Mostly she was happy that he was taking it seriously—this was serious business, after all! "Forward, always,” Mikio echoed. She turned it over in her mind for a moment, chewing on it as if it were a tender piece of meat, and then she nodded with satisfaction. "That’s a good one! But what does it mean, Yuyu-chan? What are you moving forward for, where are you going to?” She was a creature who rarely gave the past much thought—but the future was equally foreign to her. Where some kept their eyes on the horizon and far-flung goals, Mikio’s focus was on the people at her side and the ground beneath her feet, never living anywhere but in the absolute present. Tenka Yujukumono -- 236

MADE BY NIGHTBLOOM