[Jinjōi Chiyo]

This was outrageous! And unfair! 

Chiyo was stuck in the Academy alone, after class. Everyone else has gone home, but she was stuck here. Reason? Beating up another kid with her wooden sword. The girl regretted it not and refused to apologize, which was what she told the instructor when they broke them away from one another. The boy was from the snooty Araikettei branch. He goaded her frequently, and teased her relentlessly. So, she challenged him to a duel. And her crime was winning it. The boy cried loudly, and his parents came running. They took him home and promised to 'discipline' him accordingly. Nobody came to pick up Chiyo - her parents were at work. So, she had to sit through detention.

Her wooden sword, her pride, was taken away from her. Without it, she felt ... incomplete. And bored. There was nobody else in the room. So the kimono-wearing child looked around for something to entertain herself with. Not books, mind you - those she had the obligation to read during school. But... what else was there to do? Chiyo could not escape to the dojo either. So, the girl just stared at the rain, through the window. It always rained in Amegakure. Chiyo hated rain. It was soggy and it got everywhere. Eventually, her eyes fell upon something.

The teacher's stick.

She eyed it for a few long moments. It was long and wooden and pointy... Not quite her sword, but if the teacher decided to confiscate hers, it was only fair she could take a hold of their stick in turn! Chiyo scurried over and took the stick in hand. Feeling its weight in her hands. A bit lighter, but... beggars can't be choosers. She made a few swings before taking a stance, that of the Dragon, with sword overhead. A few more consecutive swings, and... Chiyo ran into one of the chairs. Knocking it over. Tucking her head into her shoulders, she looked around, and placed it back straight. "Ooops..." - she muttered and was about to continue her practice...

Only to hear the door being opened. She immediately turned around and hid the teacher's stick behind her back.

Someone was coming!

[Habiki Susanō]

"You should be ashamed of yourself! Resorting to violence against a fellow student!" Habiki listened to the words of one of the instructors, he'd gotten in a fight over someone badmouthing his sister. He had no regret in doing so. He'd take whatever punishment they deemed necessary; it was better than going home right after his classes. "Can you just give me detention already? I'm not gonna change my mind." With that statement, the teacher got more irritated. They did concede at least, stopping their lecture and motioning for Habiki to follow. Both his hands were behind his back, carefree as usual.

Eventually they arrived at one of the many classrooms, "I'll be checking in frequently, don't get in a fight with the other student in there." Then, he was left alone. He promptly opened the door and walked into the classroom. The girl in the room was familiar, but he wasn't sure of her name or anything. He took note of the thing behind her back, whatever it was. So long as she didn't bother him, Habiki would proceed to the desk furthest from the door. As he took his seat, he'd kick his feet up on it and lean back. This was definitely better than dealing with his dad back at home. "I'm Habiki." Were the only words he would say to the other student. Detention was gonna be fun.

Jinjōi Chiyo and notes and fancy links



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[attr="id","credits"]Quixotic of THQ

[Jinjōi Chiyo]

Another kid was brought in. 

Chiyo observed the boy carefully, as he was pushed inside, the door locked behind him. He looked ... unkempt. Or at least his hair was. The outfit was anything like a traditional garb she wore. Looked more like a track suit than anything. The overall appearance was ... thuggish. And the behavior matched too, when the kid put his legs on the table. It made the girl frown. She looked towards the door, hearing the steps of the detention warden leave further and further away. When she couldn't hear them no more, her hand moved from behind her back, the teacher's pointer stick appearing in it. 

"Jinjoi Chiyo." - the girl answered simply, slowly walking around the boy, not letting him out of her sights. Leaving the stick on her shoulder. Before pointing it right at him.

"You look like a delinquent!" - the girl announced, her voice squeaky and high-pitched. "What is it that brought you here? Did you take someone's lunch-money and get caught?" - Chiyo asked, in a bit of an accusatory tone. As it was possible to see, she was quick to judge. It only added insult to her injury, in a way - she viewed herself as innocent and not deserving to be in detention. And yet here she was, sitting in a room with a person who looked like he didn't wash his head for ... a week at least. She looked at Habiki, waiting for an answer. Expecting her silly conclusions to be confirmed, no doubt.

[Habiki Susanō]

This girl really just made him wanna punch a wall. Writing him off as a thug within the first moments of meeting him. She was the one that was holding a stick. He let out a sigh. "No, I didn't take anyone's lunch money. I beat another student up for talking bad about my sister. Why are you here? You steal a stick from the school grounds or something?" If she wanted to judge him, Habiki would do the same. His usual confidence around fellow students was obvious, he wouldn't back down from anyone!

As he waited for her response, he grabbed his school bag, taking out a couple sheets of paper. He then grabbed a pen and notebook from his bag. He flipped the notebook to a specific page, filled with fuinjutsu seals that they taught at the academy. He set the notebook down at the top of his desk, positioning it to where he could see the seals. He then started writing the seals down, practicing his handwriting for when he could actually use fuinjutsu. Still, she remained near him with the stick pointed at him as if accusing him of something. "If you're gonna be here anyways, you should try to do something productive. You're just wasting time standing there."

Jinjōi Chiyo and notes and fancy links

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[attr="id","credits"]Quixotic of THQ

[Jinjōi Chiyo]

"... Oh."

He was serious, wasn't he? Suddenly, Chiyo felt like an idiot for jumping to conclusions so quickly. Was it possible that behind such a disheveled exterior there was a noble soul? Coming to blows to protect one's family from defamation was not something the girl would condone the boy for. In fact, she felt that he, like herself, was thrown into detention unjustly! The stick wavered in her hand before she pulled it away, instinctively drawing it back to her waist, even though the scabbard wasn't there. A bit of red came to Chiyo's face, as she took a step forward, and made a bow.

"I'm sorry! I should not have judged! Protecting your sister's good name was a... a honorable thing to do! I uh... I'll leave you be. Sorry!"

After the awkward apology, Chiyo took  a few steps back, and turned around, to hide the face of her shame. When the boy asked her if she got detention for stealing a stick from the playground, the tips of her ears went red. Yeah, she deserved the jokes after making such a big blunder herself. The girl's hands balled into fists.

"No... Someone talked badly of me, so I challenged them to a duel. And won."

I don't have a brother to do it for me, you see. Not that I'd need one! - she added inside of her head. Still, this guy, Habiki, was it? Had a point. There was nothing else to do here. So, Chiyo started slowly moving the chairs and tables around. They creaked and scraped the floor, making irritating noises, but she could not do it any faster. Hers was the swiftness, not strength. Still, she had to make some room for herself to practice her stick-wielding safely. Even if it would take a bit of time to set up. 

[Habiki Susanō]

Chiyo seemed to genuinely feel bad, she even bowed as she apologized. He looked up from his paper for a moment, getting a good look at the girl now. She was a little bit smaller than him, with long white hair flowing down her back. Her red eyes seemed to scream for justice or something. At the very least, the girl was unique. His attention stayed on her as she brought that stick to her side. Yea, she was a strange one. Then again so was he to some people. He gave the girl a small smile, one she might not even notice.

"Don't worry about it. Just try not to judge people before you even talk to them or know their situation."

As for honorable, that had nothing to do with it. He just didn't want his sister to have more to deal with on top of everything else. So, if some lame kid wanted to talk bad about her, they'd have to deal with the repercussions of that. He didn't mention that part to the girl though, that probably wasn't a good impression to give her.

"Nice to know you can fend for yourself. I'd hate to see the other kid." He joked a bit, mainly cause sticks could actually be painful.

After that statement, he went back to looking at the seals he'd made. So far, he'd drawn the symbol for odor, smoke, and explosion. He knew no jutsu for those seals, but he was just practicing any ways. A loud creak pulled his attention away though, as Chiyo began moving desks and chairs around. She seemed to be making an empty space for something. That, or she was trying to improve her strength by moving heavy objects. "Hmmm." He would mutter to himself. He got up from his chair, picking up his three items for a moment. He then sat on the desk instead of the chair, this way he'd have a good view of what Chiyo was doing while practicing his handwriting. He positioned his items in his lap to where he could still see his notes and write the seals down. The girl might think he was definitely a delinquent now, but he didn't really care.

Jinjōi Chiyo and notes and fancy links



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[attr="id","credits"]Quixotic of THQ

[Jinjōi Chiyo]

Soon enough, Chiyo freed up enough space for herself. 

A smalls quare surrounded by desks, where she'd have full freedom of movement, without the threat of bumping into a chair, or a table, or a precious vase just waiting to be knocked over. It wasn't a dojo, but beggars cannot be choosers. Having climbed over a table and into her little secluded space, the girl brought her stick along, pulling it out as if it were a sword from a sheath. She then shuffled her feet and looked down to see if her footwork was right, before looking forward, and raising it up. In her dark-purple kimono, and with a sash, she really did look like a tiny samurai from paintings of old... or from modern comic books. She rose her stick above her head, and then made a swing, with the motion of the 'weapon' going diagonally, and then to her left. What followed was a slash back upwards, and then another one to a different direction. With every blow, she made a step forward, until ran out of room. Then, she took steps back, while continuing her strikes.

He's watching me though... How weird! He's weird...

Chiyo couldn't help but shoot a glare towards the boy, from time to time. He was sitting on a table, and writing something in his lap. And watching her. In the dojo, plenty of other kids watched Chiyo, but it never felt so ... personal. Maybe because they were the only people here. She wondered what was he writing. Despite the warning to not judge a book by its cover, she didn't take him for a type to do homework too often... Or diligently. Or at all. Instead, she hoped to get a glimpse of what he was doing by shifting her position within her square a bit. And pretending to be practicing still. A few more swings, to sell the appearance of it, too.

"So..." - the girl asked between swings. "Did you win your fight?"

[Habiki Susanō]

Eventually, Chiyo cleared a square of free space for herself. What was the purpose though?

That question would be answered as she climbed into the space, pulling her stick out as if it were a sword. She had cleared a space to practice her swordsmanship! She probably wanted to be a Bukijutsu specialist, if she wasn't already one. She even had the look of a samurai with the clothes she wore. Wasn't that a thing in the land of iron? Habiki couldn't help but wonder if she'd fit better there. Whether she'd fit better there or not, she was here.

She started with a couple swings of the stick, moving towards the edge of her square as she swung the stick. As she did this, Habiki kept watch while writing down more seals. She definitely noticed that Habiki was watching though, he could see her movements getting stiffer, as if trying to impress someone. At least, it looked like it to him.

He was then asked if he won his fight. Of course, he did! He wasn't gonna lose to a snot-nosed brat that had talked bad about his sister! "Do I look beat up to you? I would think you'd be able to tell I won just from looking at me. What about you? Were you able to beat someone with that stick?" He asked, not sure if she had found the stick recently or not.

Jinjōi Chiyo and notes and fancy links



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[attr="id","credits"]Quixotic of THQ

[Jinjōi Chiyo]

Chiyo flared up about the boy's comment about her being able to tell. She turned to face him again, her kimono and her hair unfurled a bit, as if she were a frilled lizard trying to make herself look bigger.

"Of course I could tell! I just thought the two of you wrestled instead of throwing punches, that's all!"

It was a big fat lie. In truth, she didn't bother to analyze the boy for any signs of injury. Her analysis didn't go beyond messy hair, feet on the table, thuggish looks. She kicked herself for that. Ninjas were supposed to be perceptive! Frustrated a bit, Chiyo returned to her katas, practicing her footwork and swings. Though it was easy to see that the little bit of conversation certainly moved her out of her focused piece of mind, as she was thinking more about her audience than the practice itself. Namely about what was he writing, and how did he manage to beat up whatever snot-nosed kid he fought. A bit of her mind ventured into the realm of wether or not she would be able to beat him up, as if sizing him for a fight. 

Then his question came around.

"I don't fight with sticks. I have a sword, if you must know. A bokken." - Chiyo stated, proud of her possession. At least, before her shoulders drooped and she looked at the stick in her hand. "Before it was taken from me by the detention teacher. In retribution, I have confiscated this stick for my means. I will forfeit it when they return my sword." - the girl added, making the fact of her snatching the pointer a much bigger deal than it ought to be. 

"My offender thought he could take me on bare-handed. Stupid! Dumb! I hit his fingers a few times. He should be grateful! If it were a real sword, he'd be left without fingers. Instead, he ran and told on me. Snitch." - Chiyo said, getting all huffy and angry over the things that happened earlier today. Then, she eyed the scroll again.

"What are you writing anyway?"

[Habiki Susanō]

It was clear to Habiki at this point that Chiyo was easily embarrassed. Of course, Habiki still had a few bruises on his face, but the other guy looked a lot worse. "I'm not the type to wrestle. Then again, I'm not usually one to get into a fist fight either. This fight might've been a special occasion." He would respond casually, as if he hadn't noticed how flustered Chiyo was.

She returned to what she had been doing before, striking at the air in an attempt to practice. As he asked his question, she seemed to have a look of pride as she answered. Since when were academy students were allowed to have swords? Her expression then changed almost instantly, sad that the teacher had confiscated her weapon. As a result, she took the teachers stick. That brought the question of why a teacher had a stick in the first place, it was strange. "Huh, not the answers I was expecting honestly. I didn't know we were allowed to have actual weapons as academy students. I thought it was mostly wood or rubber versions of Kunai or Shuriken."

The individual who she had fought had apparently snitched though, so maybe she wasn't supposed to have it? Then again, Tsuri had that fishing pole. From the way she talked it seemed like that was a very real weapon. "Oh." He was surprised she seemed interested in what he was writing. Turning the notebook full of fuinjutsu seals around for her to see, he replied "Just practicing my handwriting for fuinjutsu seals. I'm hoping to get faster at writing them, that way it takes less time for me to attack in the future." He explained before turning his notebook back around and writing a bit more, still paying attention to Chiyo as he practiced.

Jinjōi Chiyo and notes and fancy links



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[attr="id","credits"]Quixotic of THQ

[Jinjōi Chiyo]

"Bokken is not a real weapon! As in... a real-REAL weapon! It's a wooden sword. I wouldn't attack a fool with a steel blade. I'm not a psychopath, you know."

Chiyo huffed as she returned to her practice, repeating the strikes as if she followed a regime of some kind. The stick cutting the air with a whoosh, every time she swung. But the girl continued listening to the strange boy, as he described what he was doing. Fuuinjutsu practice. She heard that word before. The expression on the girl's face became quizzical, if just for a brief while.

"Fuuin... That is the thing they use to make explosive tags, yes?" - the girl asked for clarification. She was never big on such an obscure talent. It didn't mesh with her fantasies of cool ninja and samurai. Swinging swords, throwing kunai, and releasing fire from one's mouth did. But writing things on paper? It sounded ... pretty boring actually. And now that Chiyo knew what he was doing, the interest in it deflated considerably. She stopped what she was doing, and went towards the teacher's desk. Rummaging underneath it, briefly, probably something she was not supposed to do, as teachers kept their things there. Soon enough, the girl emerged from underneath, with a hand raised high.

In it, she held another teacher pointer. A spare one, no doubt.

"Wanna practice with me instead? You can practice handwriting in class, and you could buy tags at a shop if you need many. But you'll get to be a ninja quicker if you fight with a sword! You'll be that much cooler, too."

[Habiki Susanō]

The girl seemed to get offended rather easily, mentioning that Bokken wasn't a real weapon. "You act as if that's something I would know when I just met you within the past hour. So, how would I know you're not some psycho?" He asked, appealing to the girl's logic. Though, he wasn't sure she had any to begin with.

Habiki didn't particularly care how she felt either though. Most likely, they wouldn't see each other very often. She returned to her sword practicing as Habiki showed her his notebook, full of Fuinjutsu symbols.

"To answer your question, yea it's what makes explosive tags. However, it's not limited to just that either. You can seal a lot of different things that cause different effects." The girl's interest had faded by now, though. So, there wasn't much point in continuing his explanation of Fuinjutsu. He heard the girl rummaging through the teacher's desk but didn't seem to pay attention to it. He wasn't gonna let some random girl cause him to lose focus. "Huh? Practice with you?" He asked, not sure he heard her correctly. "Thanks for the offer but, I'm more into Ninjutsu and Fuin than anything else. Plus having a weapon isn't the only way to be a ninja. I've heard there's people that only do Taijutsu." Regardless of how hard the girl would pester him, Habiki would not join in the swinging of a stick.

Jinjōi Chiyo and notes and fancy links



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[attr="id","credits"]Quixotic of THQ

[Jinjōi Chiyo]

"Do you always immediately assume the person you don't know is a psycho? That's rude!"

Chiyo huffed. This guy was so hard to get! She was trying to get him to do something, anything to help alleviate her boredom, but he just sat there with his silly papers and claimed it was more interesting and cool than her... Or fighting her for that matter! It was getting under her skin. And that comparison with taijutsu people was just preposterous! Made the girl cross her arms, holding a stick in each hand, and striking a 'cool' pose, even.

"Kenjutsu is clearly better than Taijutsu! You can reach further with a weapon than without one! Also the track suits have old man energy."

A part of her wanted to just go at it and wail her stick at the boy. But since he did not accept her challenge, attacking an unarmed and defenseless 'foe' would have probably been dishonorable! And so, the girl was left paralyzed, unable to do anything about his slow, methodic, and utterly boring craft. Sighing, she sat on the teacher's desk and dangled her feet off of it.

"What are you gonna do if someone comes at you, anyway? Tell them to stop while you sit down and draw your seals?"

[Habiki Susanō]

"I mean, no. But when I meet someone and they're swinging a stick around then that's not exactly the best first impression." His statement would likely offend the Kenjutsu fanatic, but Habiki was never one to hold his tongue. Or care if he was offensive, for that matter. If the girl got offended that was her business.

He continued practicing his handwriting, trying to make the symbols as quickly as he could. Of course, in an actual fight, he'd have some prepared prior to the battle. However, it was no secret that he'd likely run out before it ended. He had to be prepared to write his fuinjutsu as quickly as possible. Of course, the girl interrupted him yet again.

"While you may have more reach, if they get a chance to get in close, or if they have a way to take away your weapon, you lose. An advantage can easily become a disadvantage in the midst of combat. As for the track suits, not every Taijutsu specialist wears one." He'd say simply before returning to his notebook, immersed in the pages as if it was the most important think to him. That was simply due to the fact that it was the most important thing to him at the current moment. Habiki had never excelled much in Bukijutsu, Taijutsu, or even Genjutsu. Fuinjutsu and Ninjutsu were his area of study.

The girl proceeded to sit at the teacher's desk, or rather, on top of it. Asking him what he'd do if someone came at him without him being prepared. "For one, I'd have some Fuinjutsu already prepared. So, asking them to stop wouldn't be necessary. I also know quite a bit of Ninjutsu too so there's that. And you? What if someone comes at you while your weapons sheathed without enough time to unsheathe it?" He asked rhetorically, his intent with the question was clear. Every type of jutsu had their own flaws. Habiki was so distracted with the conversation, he didn't notice the footsteps of a certain teacher coming down the hall.

Jinjōi Chiyo and notes and fancy links



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[attr="id","credits"]Quixotic of THQ

[Jinjōi Chiyo]

"Hmpf. If they were to manage to disarm me or get inside of my guard, then they're clearly a much better fighter. I would have lost no matter what I did. But when fighting with equal skill, the sword wins all the time!"

Chiyo did not doubt her judgment. Her little theory was supported by facts! Whenever she fought someone using a stick, when they did not have one, she won all the time. Surely, this experience could be extrapolated to higher tiers of skill! And really, she did not want to try and catch a sharp steel blade using her hands alone. Tools and weapons were invented for a reason! Nevertheless, the girl was stopped from gushing about the superiority of a sharp metal bar over a fleshy fist or foot, by a legitimate question. What would she do if someone were to attack her with her weapon sheathed? A knowing smirk appeared on her face.

"If someone were to attack me with my weapon sheathed, they'd be the ones caught by surprise! You see, there is a special art of swordfighting called the iaijutsu. It focuses on the art of the quick-draw, slashing an enemy and putting the sword back into the sheath before they could even blink! I'll show you..."

With that, she placed one hand to the side of her waist, as it it were a sheath, and put the stick she wielded into it, as if it were a sword. Holding it at the hilt with the other hand, she took a combat-ready stance. 

"Watch closely. One, two... three! Hnhhh!"

Chiyo pulled with her hand, forward, attempting to unsheathe the sword and deliver a strike at the same time! It was here where the girl, who never tried this technique before, ran into a few difficulties. First, a hand was not a sheath! And second, the "sword" was too long, and her arms - too short! She barely made it half way. After trying a few times, she did manage to pull it out fully, at the cost of wasting a few precious seconds and almost losing her balance.

"It's... it's a work in progress!" - Chiyo claimed, her face red. Clearly embarrassed by failure.