[Kimura Inari]

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[attr=class,lutxt] The nature surrounding Konohagakure had always been a part of a certain young adult's life. Inari spent a large part of her spare time enjoying the peace it brought her. Long walk spent reflecting and thinking over her situation, but also relishing in childish daydreams of being a child of the forest, an explorer, even a deer or another wild animal. The latter was one more frequent in her younger years, however.  Inari, dressed in a practical pair of long pants in mossy green, a 3/4 sleeve shirt and a backpack with a few snacks and two bottles of water and a sketchbook. She had planned a longer trip, so she was in no hurry when the sun had barely crept past its zenith. A nap in the soft grass in a small clearing had swallowed a good hour or so of her travel time and now the girl was venturing further into the forest.  Because of who she was, three kunai were stowed in her bag and one in her boot, not because she had any intention to use them, at most she used them to cut a slice of bread into pieces or slice an apple. She moved around the forest with care, her quiet footsteps allowing her to get incredibly close to the forest dwellers before they fled. It was one such forest dweller which made her stop and stare. Her brown eyes grew soft and her look of awe grew into a soft smile. A deer with its offspring. Their soft and flexible bodies seemed to flow like water when they moved and she could almost see them jump along further into the forest. Once she had observed them long enough she started to move, not in their direction, but the mother startled anyway, she jumped a few paces and then the soft mewl of the fawn made Inari stop and look over her shoulder, seeing the young creature's hoof tangled in a rope. A trap...  With a worried and cautious gaze Inari turned around and went to the deer. The mother seemed to grow anxious and aggressive, Inari's mocha eyes fluttered between the mother and her kid. "Shhh, I'm not going to hurt you. I want to help" Was it going to help? Probably not, but she kept trying to soothe their anxiety with soft and kind words, until finally, she got a firm grip on the fawn's leg (took a rough kick to her arm, but let's just imagine it didn't happen and that this is a Disney movie) and with the kunai from her boot she cut the rope and the fawn stumbled but quickly regained its balance and looked at her with confusion and what could be interpreted as insulted. It made Inari chuckle.  "See? Just trying to help, you silly goof~"  Her voice regained some of the cheer she usually held but had lost over the past months. Inari stuffed her boot with the kunai, pocketed the rope and turned to continue her hike.

SAI Of GS

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[Arimura Kasumi]

It seemed to be wherever she was in the forest, animals always gravitated towards her. A bird chirped overhead as she slithered without care for the noise she made, red eyes glanced upwards at the bird with a sniff. 

The woman was hardly Sage ready, by appearance at any rate. Her flame red hair that was usually silken soft in the company of the public was a ratty orange mess, ends frayed and dirty. Small grubs wriggled their way through her hair idly, it didn't bother her. Not really. Her robes were messy too, trodden down from where she'd allowed her entailed form to slither against the ground. There was no need to keep up appearances so far out, no one came this way unless they were lost or hunting. And woe betide the person hunting in her territory. 

A noise caught her attention, hands drifting against the bark of a tree as she slithered towards the noise. A small clearing formed, her eyes clocked an orange haired woman kneeling down near a fawn, hands working on the rope around its ankle. Kasumi stopped, eyes watching, as the woman worked against the rope. 

The doe backed up, sensing her presence, into her side. She had always had a way with animals, they sought her out against the harshness of nature. Her hand ran across the top of the doe's head as her eyes watched the woman. She had seen her before somewhere. But Kasumi was terrible with names. 

"Did you place this trap?" she asked, her voice off a little as she asked the question, hand placed atop the doe. 

ulla

[Kimura Inari]

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[attr=class,lutxt] It only took a moment and the doe was free and Inari turned only to freeze where she stood. A woman, a bird's nest for hair and a hand on the doe's head. Kasumi. The sage. The odd tone of her voice suggesting to Inari that if she said yes, the recluse would likely make sure she never returned from her hike. Brown eyes drifted to the side, nervousness bubbling up in her stomach. "No. I just cut it" She studied the sage's face, notice the specks of dirt and small twigs in the hair. She really didn't care about appearances, at least not when she wasn't in the village, that was clear. From the few rumours Inari had heard about the sage, she was more akin to a wild being than human. Admirable and yet, it made her wonder, how did she end up being raised by the expansive forests of Hi no Kuni? It surely couldn't have been her parents' choice. It struck her that if Kasumi was wilder than the average human, then Inari had probably waltzed right into her home and territory. Her mocha brown eyes fell to her feet for a moment. "I'm sorry if I moved too far into your territory, I can leave...?" Not that she really wanted to, but her hike wasn't worth the anger of a sage.

SAI Of GS

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[Arimura Kasumi]

The Sage's hand shifted atop the doe, running elongated fingers into the small fluffy head of the doe for a moment before letting the beast go. It sniffed at her hand once more before taking off into the trees. As the wind swept up Kasumi's hair from the doe running away with its fawn, the woman didn't move. She awaited the girls response. Could tell by the way she was holding herself, abashed and slightly nervous, that she was telling the truth. Surely she would have been defensive otherwise.

Kasumi lowered her hands in front of her, wrapping them together as she looked over the girl. She remembered her, her picture memory was perfect - more of less - names? Not so much. The woman raised a hand to scratch the side of her cheek in thought. 

The girl in front of her looked... sick. At least, her complexion looked pasty. And the bags under her eyes told Kasumi she was struggling with something. The woman let out a light 'hmm' from her throat before moving over to her, using her feet instead of her tailed form. 

Once she'd approached the girl, after not having said a word, she'd reach up and hold the girl by the jaw gently, turning her head side to side and peering into her eyes. 

"What's wrong with you?" she asked curiously, forgetting her appearance and sudden emergence in front of the girl could have been construed as intimidating or hostile and more than certainly forgetting the girl had asked if she was in her territory. 

ulla

[Kimura Inari]

You have me on the run. As the strange woman approached, Inari found herself reluctant to move. Not that she couldn't. Just... It didn't occur to her. Her feet locked in place and as the sage's fingers locked around her jaw, she seemed to gain some semblance of caution. Her caramel eyes carrying the weight of what she had seen, done, and the exhaustion seeping into her bones. She wouldn't mind it awfully much if the sage decided to bind wretch her jaw from her skull, leaving her on the soft forrest floor surrounded by the scents of the forest, blue sky above her. It'd be peaceful.  The thought alone unsettled the young operative, but none of it showed. Instead, an idea occurred to her. The sage didn't mingle with politics. Didn't really concern herself with who held what position...  "I'm dying."  She croaked. Voice, surprisingly, clear of any emotion. It was as if she was talking about the wonderful weather. If it wasn't for the sweaty palms and the butterflies storming around in her belly, it was almost as if the freeing of the deer had never happened.  She wouldn't tell would she?  Mocha orbs searched those deep hues, those filled with a wisdom rarely seen. Inari was going to tell them. The drafts for her resignation were in her desk drawer. The letter to her family already neatly folded and in a sealed envelope. Meant for Kazuto to keep until she left to go spend her final time however she wished. Preferably someplace sunny, with untouched meadows and bird song in the sky.  notes and tags

vulpina

[Arimura Kasumi]

Her hand continued to softly hold the girls jaw as the Sage peered into the girls face. To Inari's credit she didn't flinch, instead she was entirely truthful. 

It made Kasumi consider. Her head tilting to the side as her wild red hair followed with her. For such a young thing she was very at one with her destination. Most older shinobi, most older people, screamed and kicked against death. Why had the girl accepted it? 

Kasumi ran her thumb along the girls jaw thoughtfully before letting it go. 

"You are," she said finitely, as if deciding for herself. 

Kasumi's red gaze looked up into the forest, her face serene an oddly beautiful regardless of how wild her hair was and how grimey her feet were. 

"Come."

And with the simple instruction, Kasumi wandered off into the forest, assuming Inari was following along behind. They wouldn't walk far, but the woods would grow denser and harder to navigate. Well. To everyone except Kasumi. She seemed to know every nook and cranny of the dense undergrowth and would turn infrequently to warn the girl of where to place her feet, lest she fall into a crevice or stream. 

When they eventually wandered far enough, they would come upon a clearing. And in the clearing of wild flowers and low lying branches would be a hut. Nothing spectacular nor any architectural marvel. It was simple: thatched roof, wooden walls with moss growing on them and a simplistic looking metal chimney poking out the top of the moss and flower filled roof. It wasn't much to most that saw it, but to Kasumi it was her home. 

She'd walk to the door and push it open, ushering the girl inside. Inside was just as quirky as outside. Clean but cluttered. Roof made of vines and branches that criss crossed over each other, little nests atop those branches where birds chirped and squirrels sat in the ivy. 

The fire was blazing, welcoming almost, and everything in the house - though quirky - was placed in the right way to make it homely. A door to the bedroom was closed but the main circular room of the hut housed an open fire pit with a pot bubbling over the top, a stewy aroma dancing off of the steam. In the centre of the room was a table and chairs, wooden and not at all straight. 

Kasumi offered the chair before leaning over the stew and stirring it. 

"Do you have a name, dying child? I'm told society name people, so I assume you must have one." 

ulla

[Kimura Inari]

You have me on the run. The silence stretched on, mocha eyes drifting away in a moment of uncertainty. She wasn't going to scream and rage against the destiny set upon her, if the skilled people at the hospital told her nothing could be done but treat the symptoms, then that was all she could do. Sure, tears had been and would be shed, but in the end this was just another mission. 'Do as much good for the village and your family before you leave'.  The sage's voice almost made her flinch, instead she tensed and curled her toes. the finality of her voice both a surprise and a comfort. It wasn't the reaction you'd get from most when you told the you were dying, but the woman seemed as if Inari had just told her the weather was nice. The conflicting emotions swirled within her for a moment before the Sage turned and moved, her words pulling her along on quiet feet.  The short trek was spent studying the woman before her, the way she moved so easily through the terrain, her feet seemed to avoid all sharp rocks and broken branches and insects littering the ground. A different kind of beauty existed around her, a different kind of serenity. The one you'd only find when watching nature, perhaps a doe and her young.  Inari was less graceful, but paid attention to where the woman stepped and was careful not to disturb the place too much. She lagged behind when she was faced with the humble hovel. Was she being invited into the Sage's home? Or did she plan to cook her?! A few glances around the place and Inari decided not to be rude and forget the few rumors she had heard around the village after the Sage had visited it. The home of the mysterious Sage was everything but a witch's home. The warmth and comfort experienced here seemed to have seeped into the furniture and it now seemed welcoming despite the crooked flaws and simple construction. Inari found her seat and her focus shifted from the home to the home's resident.  "My name is Inari."  Whatever the Sage was cooking, it reminded Inari of a mushroom stew her mother made some times.  notes and tags

vulpina

[Arimura Kasumi]

The girl, named Inari, responded simply. Kasumi noted she was used to taking orders rather than thinking on her own. There was an oddity about her that the woman couldn't quite place. That said... who was she to judge? Was she not known colloquially as a hermit? She was hardly well versed in social machinations. 

Kasumi tended to her stew for a moment, letting the chirping of the birds and squeaking of the squirrels do the talking for her. 

"I have a name, in case you're interested," she said eventually, her voice warm, "people are funny little things. They need names to talk, to know someone."

She turned, smiling at the girl with plump lips. She lowered her hood so that her red, messy hair cascaded down over her shoulders. 

"People feel better with names. Names hold weight in society, or so I've learned. It matters very little, dying girl, but you may call me Kasumi if you so wish."

She sat down in the chair opposite Inari and for a moment her red eyes looked over the girl curiously. 

"So what were your plans?" she asked, voice still oddly warm, "when an animal gets sick, they often find somewhere comforting to spend their last moments."

She tilted her head to the side. 

"Did you plan to find somewhere warm to spend your last days?" 

ulla

[Kimura Inari]

You have me on the run. The Sage of the forest seemed to treat everything simply and... natural. Dying was indeed natural. It left the redhead with questions and worries, but in the end the Sage was right and the lack of pressure in the air made the conversation seem almost liberating. "Names have power, just like titles. "  Inari fidgeted with her fingers idly as the sage moved to the table. The red tresses cascading over her shoulders and down her front. Inari's eyes traveled up to meet the wine red orbs, on their way noting the woman's odd choice of dress, a faint pink colouring her cheeks.  " I-I haven't really thought about it... Just, It'd be nice to be somewhere away from the village and pitying eyes, somewhere I can watch the sunset" The other's gaze would prove too intense, too honest, for Inari to hold so hers drifted to the side.  Was she about to suggest a place since she asked? Humans were animals, but... Few had a choice in where and how they died, most died from old age in their beds, others died bleeding out in the shadows felled by an enemy's blade. The scent of the stew simmering over the fire did draw out a small rumble from her stomach, reminding her she hadn't eaten in a while.  "It smells good, what is it?"  She turned he gaze towards the fireplace, avoiding the honest gaze of the sage. It felt as if the woman could see right through you and Inari was constantly reminded of a predator, one who would live in peace with its surroundings unless provoked or hungry.  notes and tags

vulpina

[Arimura Kasumi]

Inari responded that names held power as well titles. Kasumi found that notion odd. She rested her hands on the table, her long nails hardly manicured but also hardly disgusting. There was a raw, natural beauty about Kasumi. The jewel pressed to her head clinked as she contemplated what Inari had said. 

"If I had no name, nor title with which the world holds me to, would my power be any less potent? Would I simply crumble and be reduced to ash if I were not known?" they were rhetorical questions, but to Kasumi straightforward ones. 

If all else failed and Kasumi's world renown, her name, were erased from history, would it stop her being any less capable in her duties? Names and titles only held so much power and Kasumi wasn't in the nature of flexing power through title. 

"Names and titles only hold so much weight. Do you think Niko, your dear Hokage, would be any less capable without her title? Likewise, young Inari, would you be any more capable if you were given the title of Hokage?" 

"Nature holds only potential to the mettle, a deer's potential to outrun a wolf is what saves it from being mauled. A wolf's potential to outsmart a hunter is what would save it. You tell a wolf or a deer it has a name and it would make no difference to the outcome of their life. A rogue shinobi has their abilities to hold them up, their name means little if they have hunters on their tail. It will not save them. A name will not save you, dying girl." 

"But I am an old woman, so perhaps I rant and rave like a lunatic, I am the Unhinged Sage, no?" she smirked at the alias, shifting the course of the conversation away from names and her thoughts on them. Inari continued the conversation about finding a warm spot to watch the sunset and a knowing smile crossed Kasumi's face, though she didn't usher any more on it. Instead she got up, lithe body moving almost entrancingly to the stew pot. 

"My speciality. Good for constitution. Good for the soul," she heard Inari's stomach growl and Kasumi would lift the spoodle up, holding a bowl in her other hand. She dipped the spoodle into the stew and deposited it into a bowl. 

Then she would turn and place it in front of Inari with a spoon. The smell would be irresistible, if one could ignore the animal eyeballs floating in amongst the meat and vegetables. 

"Eyeballs possess incredible qualities in them, eat. It might make you feel strong enough to trek home." 

The woman sat opposite her, gaze flickering expectantly between the broth and the girl. She wanted to know how it tasted. As she did sit expectantly, a squirrel would teeter down from the branches that made up the roof. Kasumi's sanguine red eyes would look down at the squirrel affectionately, her eyes focussing on the wounded arm the squirrel presented to her. Gentle hands would find leaves that sat in a mortar on the side of the table, she'd pick up a leaf and place it in her mouth, chewing until it became a paste. 

Nimble fingers would take out the paste from her mouth and press it with key precision, gently, to the squirrels arm. 

"Nature is a precious thing, Inari," Kasumi explained as she worked on the squirrel, seemingly it had no fear of Kasumi, "if you treat it with the respect it deserves, it will protect you."

ulla

[Kimura Inari]

WORDS: #

TAGS: Arimura Kasumi

The sage might not agree, but to Inari, it meant something to have a name. Perhaps no physical power, but the one who held the title of Hokage was one Inari was ready to follow and even die for if it should come to that.

"I don't think you or Niko-sama would be any less capable. But... If we ever ended up in war, I know I'd fight till my hands no longer could hold a weapon or my legs carry me, knowing someone like Niko-sama or my friends believe in me... And You don't seem all that unhinged to me"

The last past was more lighthearted than the first sentences. Her eyes studied the sage briefly. She was... Odd, but she didn't seem mad at all. But perhaps Inari was willing to tolerate more than the general public? As attention was placed on the stew bubbling away in its pot, Inari watched as the chunky mass was deposited into a bowl placed in front of her. Inari liked food. She loved it. So she wasn't going to turn down something free or something made by the forest-dweller. So she was quick to pick up the spoon as the other spoke. Her stirring motions came to a stop as the other mentioned eyeballs and their benefits. She quickly moved her chocked gaze to the stew and as she had said, several eyeballs were looking up at her... 

Did she squeal or did she just... ignore it and eat it? She didn't want to be rude. But... It was eyeballs! But then on the other hand... If she turned it down, wouldn't it hurt the woman's feelings? She had made it and was probably going to eat it herself, so if Inari went and said it was disgusting she'd likely be kicked out or eaten. So, after studying the stew a bit, a hesitant answer came. 

"... I have never had eyeball stew before"

Her attention was then grabbed by a squirrel as it came down to the sage and presented an injury. As the other started to speak, Inari would bravely, according to herself, raise a spoonful of stew and put it in her mouth. Expecting the worst, she was surprised. The flavor was brilliant. The texture was as most stews, apart from the eyeball, it was... smooth. Safe to say, she quickly swallowed it and scooped some more up, although starting with the broth a the few items she recognized.

"I like that idea, it is simple and far less complicated than all the social rules in the village... You seem to live in peace out here, do you get a lot of visitors?" 

In a way, she could see why she preferred the company of animals rather than those living in the village. In an attempt to direct the conversation away from the village, which Inari was almost certain the sage didn't wish to talk about. 

NOTES ;notes.

＃ENY ADOXOGRAPHY

[Arimura Kasumi]

The squirrel would not move too much as Kasumi tended to the small wound on its delicate arm. It ticked its head in Inari's direction before looking back up at Kasumi with wide, brown eyes. Kasumi's red eyes would drift fondly from the squirrel up to the girl, poking at her stew. 

While Inari thought she might have been sly in her stirring, the Sage picked up on it. Silently she would muse on the girls speech before watching her pick up an eyeball and crunch on it. She knew the taste was exquisite, she had spent the better part of half a century perfecting it. A small smile quicked on her lips as Inari seemed, suddenly, to take to the stew. 

"I would save your assessment of me until longer than five minutes, child, you have yet to get to know me," the smile turned into a half cocked smirk, "you might change your mind yet." 

Inari would munch on the stew and the squirrel would sit on Kasumi's hand. A tentative brown pair of eyes turned to Inari, the squirrel was curious. Gently it would pick its way across the table until it sat opposite the bowl and the girl. 

"Most of Konoha prefers to dine in exclusivity," Kasumi mused, mind wandering over all the odd sweet treats she had seen in the markets and grilled seafood, "but with their glutton comes a price from nature. Pollution and hunting that gives nothing back to the earth. Sometimes the best of things are found within nature itself."

Of course she meant her odd rituals in which she lived on the land, but to Inari it might as well have been babble. 

A tattooed, red nailed hand came to rest upon the Sage's chin, elbow to the table as red serpentine eyes watched the girl carefully. 

"I get few visitors..." she muttered, "those that come this far with purpose to find me often do so to test their mettle. Many young ones want to gauge where they stand against the Sage of the Leaf." 

Her tone to this was almost as proportionate to the bored gaze on her eyes at discussing the topic. How she had grown tired of children trampling into the forest, screeching they wanted to fight her. All of them had gone back home with their tail between their legs. 

"It is refreshing to have someone who wants to do more than test who has more mastery over chakra."

ulla

[Kimura Inari]

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As the woman reminded her that opinions weren't formed in five minutes Inari lowered her gaze, feeling sheepish and stupid for a moment. But the woman still seemed to be different from anyone she had met before in the village or outside it. Perhaps it was a side effect of the sage arts she practised. Inari stirred the stew around, her eyes choosing to focus on the squirrel as she did, then as she took another spoonful, it made its way to her side of the table. Dark brown eyes met mocha and they just looked at each other for a second before Inari smiled softly at the animal. It was so soft looking, but now that it was sitting so close she could see more details in its fur and eyes than she had ever seen in a squirrel before. Tempted to reach out and pet it, but would it spook the creature? She didn't want to chase it away so she remained where she was, instead she lowered her hand to the edge of the bowl, spoon-handle resting at the edge of the bowl. She didn't have much to add to the sage's comment about Konoha's hunting and eating habits, but the mentioning of people coming all this way into the forest just to fight the woman was something she had something to add to. [break] "But... I thought only a sage could rival another sage? You, sages, use something far more powerful than regular chakra, right?" [break][break]
She really didn't know much about sages other than they were extremely powerful and more loyal to themselves and the land than the village they were associated with. Inari didn't dwell too long at the woman's bored gaze, instead, it returned to the squirrel. "You could always set up a genjutsu to keep people from finding you, couldn't you?"
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[attr="class","iwbtr-credit"]SELKIE

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[Arimura Kasumi]

template by punki of adoxography

my heart beats in patters to a broken sound

i'm a free animal, free animal

The squirrel was interested to say the least, brown beady eyes watched as Inari stared back. The small bushy tail coiled upwards and curled at the tip so that it sat atop the squirrels head, twitching infrequently as the girl moved slowly. The squirrel was not stupid, but there was a surprising ease to the creature that wouldn't have been found out in nature. Truly, the Sages Hut was a world away from the world. 

Kasumi sat with amused eyes as the squirrel sat curiously. It awaited for Inari to lower her spoon against the edge of her bowl and then hopped a step forwards. Enamoured though she was, Inari would turn to look back at Kasumi. 

"Is that what you think, child?" retorted Kasumi amusedly, surely the idea of only Sages being able to handle other Sages had a half truth - there were very few people who could rival her power but not all of them were masters of natural chakra. "Nature has a balance, like all things, and this balance requires concentration and spirit. Sages do not learn their power because they are born to such a heritage. There is physical chakra, the stunted thing that flows through your veins and then there is spiritual chakra; it resides all around you, but only the truly aware can feel it." 

Kasumi watched as the squirrel began to lap at the woman's soup when she wasn't looking before turning red eyes back at her. 

"To be a Sage you must master the balance between the two worlds perfectly, and doing so grants you a deeper understanding of the world - you can feel the rhythm, the ebb and flow of life, the reality of death. All of it is connected to a way in which most do not understand." 

Inari mentioned genjutsu and Kasumi openly scoffed. 

"Why on earth would I mask my beloved home? Who am I to claim a stake in it? No, no, people will always seek me out and they will always go home ashamed of trying. Nature, my dear, it's all about balance." 

The woman would stand and dust down invisible dust off of her bare, tattooed legs. 

"Finish your soup, child, and come with me I have something to show you." 

And with that mystifying sentence, Inari could either deprive the squirrel of its soup and slurp it down or follow the Sage out of the door and into the forest. 

[Kimura Inari]

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Inari would be too distracted to catch the squirrel stealing some of the soup, instead, her mocha eyes were locked on the woman. Two worlds in one, two chakras, how was that even possible? To control something as great and awe-inspiring as the fabric of the world? It was a feat she'd be lucky to see in action. But she wasn't about to ask the woman if she wanted to show off just how in touch she was with nature, not with all this talk about challengers coming and leaving with their tail between their legs, so to speak. As the grey-skinned woman bid her join her, Inari hastily slurped a few more scoops of soup before making eye contact with the squirrel, did it look offended? Odd. She shot it a smile before she pushed off the stool and followed the sage to wherever she was going. [break][break]

Falling in step with the woman, eyes noticing a clump of leaves stuck in the woman's hair. Her fingers almost itched with the need to reach up and remove it. Very few people liked things to be stuck in their hair, but... The sage was not one such person. If anything, she'd probably slap her hand away and glare at her for even trying. So she ignored it and locked her eyes on the path ahead, only glancing at the woman when she spoke. [break][break]
"Do all the animals seek you out when they need help? Like the squirrel back there"[break][break]
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