Don't Let It Fall Apart | Open

In order to become a genin, you must kill your classmates.

When Kikyo was but a very young child, she always wanted to become a shinobi. She had a thirst for adventure and a need to aid her village for success. Ignorance is a bliss as a child; she would zone out into her dream without taking consideration of the village's process of ranking up. She thought there wouldn't be much to it. All you had to do was know a few essential steps to becoming a genin, prove that you know them by doing it, and that would be by performing them. There wasn't really much to it. Hell, she thought it would be just that.

But no, that wasn't the case at all. She didn't need to know a thing or two - while it is important to know a thing or two to become a shinobi, it wasn't the main focus - she had to kill. Not once in her childhood life did she ever saw herself becoming a killer. Kikyo had no problem taking down big ol' bad guys and putting them in their place, no problem. Big ol' bad guys getting killed, well, that was another story to be told for Kikyo. Even if they were bad guys and deserved to get killed, she had a mentality that everyone was not inherently evil, therefore didn't deserved death. Unfortunately, it looked like regardless whether or not someone was naturally evil, murder had to be a mandatory option to take.

Kikyo's eyes were closed as she leaned back in her seat in an outdoor tea shop along with her traditional red umbrella was closed and placed next right next to her. These thoughts were eating her alive. Was she someone who would be suitable to kill? She couldn't even handle a paper cut when she was a child. Just the sight of blood would make her faint. It would send her shivers down her spine and chills all over her body. All of this made Kikyo sigh in some slight regret. It even stressed her out a little bit.

The young blonde girl took a deep breath before a gentle exhale would flow. She slowly opened her eyes as she then leaned forward on the table. Both elbows were placed on the cold wooden table while her chin rested on both the palms of her hands, cupping her face. She stared at her cup of tea, which wasn't necessarily full, but it was far from being empty to say the least. Kikyo freed a hand to pick up her cup and took a small sip. Still hot; she felt the burning sensation linger on the tip of her tongue which hurt to move around a bit.

As Kikyo placed her cup down, she looked straight ahead from her seat, which was nothing but an empty seat and a table across from it. She could feel herself slowly zoning out as she stared straight ahead, but had to snap back to reality with a gentle shake to the head. I never knew the thought of killing someone can give me so much stress. She thought. It's been eating her up ever since she heard such a requirement to graduate.

Kikyo, while she did feel some regret, wasn't going to back down. She couldn't stomach the idea of killing someone, but it was something that she was going to get to used to.


[WC: 576]

“Don't touch me, you weirdo!”

Satsumi paused, her hand mildly outstretched to help someone stand back up onto their feet, after they'd been taken down by another. The hand had been slapped away, and she paused, glancing from her hand over to the one on the ground for a moment, her eyes narrowing slightly as she looked at the one down on the ground. “Don't touch you? My my...why ever not?” she hissed as her hand snaked forward, grasping the boy's wrist. She wasn't strong enough to pull him to his feet, of course, but she could feel the chakra in her body roiling in revenge. “Afraid you'll catch my sickness?”

The boy's eyes widened, and he pulled his hand away desperately, before managing to get free, scrambling back and standing up near the one who had put him on the ground. She had become the common enemy. For awhile, in her young years, Satsumi hadn't been entirely certain what their reasons had been. She had complained to her mother and father who had let her know that the Dokunagu were generally disliked, and that was just how it was. In her youth, the girl didn't understand what the reason was. But in time, as she grew older, and began to understand what was expected of her, the reason became clear, to her.

It was fear.

A poison expert could kill from a number of locations, in a number of ways. She never had to enter into direct combat with any of them to kill them. Truth be told, she had a poisoned needle hidden in her sleeve that she could have simply driven into the boy's wrist or palm when she had grasped him, and he would be dead before the day was out. Of course, right now, she didn't have anyone that she particularly wanted to have dead. To graduate, and to do so, it was such a simple matter, to take another's life. She was well-versed in the testing of her poisons on rats and other animals. A human was little more than a large one that could talk, as far as she was concerned.

“Don't you worry, boy. I haven't tainted your life with anything. Not yet, anyway,” the girl spoke, a smirk flickering across her features for a moment before she reached down to her side, to what looked like a small flask. With slow, deliberate motions, she pulled it up and off, and used her thumbnail to pry the lid off, making a show of it, as if she were going to be dealing the poisons directly into them. But...instead she simply tipped the flask back, as if she were beginning to take a drink from it.

She paused then, watching the two as she realized then that her flask was empty. “Shame. I was going to treat you to a little taste of what it's like to feel the poison burning through your veins,” the woman spoke, before she gave a small 'tsk' before turning on her heel, beginning to walk away from them, leaving them all mostly just watching her, waiting for her to suddenly turn around and come back at them with the sudden bursts of poison, but she ignored them, heading away.

The canteen that she had wasn't at all full of poison...and instead it was simply just some fresh tea. But now that she was out of that tea, that was mostly just...unfortunate. There was a tea place around her somewhere, and that'd let her get a quick refill. She exhaled slowly, before she began to move down the streets, following the paths that she knew through the back streets and alleyways. Soon, before too much longer, she popped out of an alley, noting that she was almost there, from that alone.

However, as she set foot into the teahouse proper, she became aware of another that was here. The crimson eyes flickered over at the woman, recognizing her as a fellow student. “Green,” the girl spoke as she placed her flask on the counter, which was looked at with some confusion before they began to fill it with the green tea, leaving Satsumi to pay before she glanced over at the other girl once more.

“Kikyo, right? You look like someone just killed your dog,” the girl spoke, coming closer to the other girl, not yet taking a seat, but simply closing the distance.

WC: 739

Kikyo already felt herself slowly dazing away to a daydream she'd rather not experience, but it couldn't be helped. Blood splattered all over the ground. It just wasn't a suitable image to look at. Luckily enough, the blonde girl's attention snapped from looking ahead and daydreaming and turned over to the girl that approached her. Her bright golden eyes scanned the other girl from top to bottom in order to familiarize said girl. Of course, how would she forget the unnaturally pale skin that even managed to concern and somewhat frightened her when she first attended the academy? Though, she wasn't sure if she should feel grateful that this girl could be potential company or little bothered that this girl is her only company. She didn't hope for the latter or the second option, but just let fate take its course.

She couldn't help but smirk at the black haired girl's retort at Kikyo's current expression. She didn't bother trying to defend herself since she was probably right. Kikyo could answer that it was for the right reasons, but to anyone else that hears them she might get a different response from what she was expecting. Empathy was something most shinobi and civilians lacked based on experience. Kikyo, on the other hand, had a lot of it. It was what she got from being sheltered from the shinobi world for so long. Hadn't she attended the academy earlier, she wouldn't be the same spirited girl she is now.

"And you look like someone killed your dog everyday." Kikyo retaliated as her smirk widened a little. Turning back to her tea, she reached for it once more and took a small sip of it, being careful not to burn her tongue again. With a soft sigh out from cooling herself again from the hot tea, she placed the cup back down and turned her head back to the other girl. The burning sensation was still there, but it wasn't as bad as before which was the good part.

If she recalled correctly, this girl was Satsumi, which was a cute name for an exotic looking person. "Exotic" was really just Kikyo being nice. She didn't know much about her, other than the fact that they're classmates and that she scares Kikyo a little with looks. She wasn't intimidated, but she did feel a bit intrigued about her. A picture can tell a thousand words, and that's exactly what she feels with her fellow eccentric classmate. The wonders this village had to offer.

Kikyo once again turned her from the other girl and to the empty seat across from her. She made a soft sigh while her eyes closed to collect herself. She slowly opened them again and slid them to her classmate. "If you'd like, you can sit here and we have a quick chat." She offered. Not that she minded the company, but it was the company itself that would always garnish some interest from Kikyo. In this case, it was the girl whose skin look like it has never seen sunlight.

"I think it'd give us a chance to get to know each other better and we'd both look like somebody just killed our dogs." Kikyo added with a light chuckle.


[WC: 542 | TWC: 1,119]

While Kikyo didn't seem to be entirely put off by Satsumi's appearance (both versions of the word, given that Sumi had simply just come into the tea shop without any hesitation or forewarning,) the poison girl didn't miss the very twitch of expression at seeing her. Satsumi didn't know Kikyo very well- the girl mostly kept to herself, but she knew the girl to be fairly well-rounded in their exercises, which was something.

At the gmirk and sudden response, however, Satsumi's face split into a grin of her own. “Yeah. Get that a lot,” the girl responded, before she watched as the girl take a small drink of the tea that she had, Satsumi appraising her as she moved. The movements were typical, but held that certain sense of grace that a shinobi, even one in training, was able to perform. She made no noise in lifting the cup, and more importantly, in setting it back down. The saucer beneath gave no sound at all to the girl's movements, which was interesting all on its own.

However, the next phrase caused Satsumi to be caught just a little off-guard. She wanted to...talk? At first, the dark-haired girl presumed this to be some sort of a trick. A test that she might fail if she answered incorrectly. Accept the hospitality offered by the girl, or simply deny her outright and flee the scene? If Kikyo was a danger, the latter was the safer option, but judging from the blond's expression, it didn't quite seem to be that she had any intention of harming the poisoner.

“Sure,” she responded after a second, the consideration and deliberation having been visible openly on her features before she set a hand on the back of a chair, pulling it closer before she took a seat opposite of the other girl, and sat, a little too heavily. Despite the rather forward-seeming gesture, Kikyo would be able to tell that Satsumi was on her guard, and for good reason, given the ultimatum that many of the academy students had been given.

The red eyes flickered over the other girl for a moment, just sort of...taking stock, more than anything. “So a tea drinker, are you? What do you have there?” she asked, mostly just out of curiosity to start the conversation flowing, more than anything. She didn't want to bring up the fact that they had to kill one another in order to advance to a genin...mostly because she wasn't sure if that was going to plant a seed into Kikyo's head that Satsumi was a welcome target. Very few people enjoyed her presence, and so it was something that few would miss.

“I just mostly go for the green, myself. It's got that sickly sweet taste, like rotting fruit,” the girl explain, beginning to gesture a bit with her hand as she did so. She didn't really know if Kikyo had any idea of what she meant, but there was just something about green tea after it got cold that gave her a taste that she really enjoyed.

She leaned forward then, resting her hands on the table and looking a bit more interestingly at Kikyo. She'd start to notice that Satsumi...didn't really blink. It was just sort of an extended stare with the occasional twitch of her eyelids, but for the most part, there was just that strange, empty stare from her wide eyes. “So. What do you plan to study once we get to Genin?” she asked, unable to keep her own curiosity sated. Someone willing to talk with her was unusual, and she was finding herself getting a little bit giddy regarding that fact.

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Kikyo felt some relief as Satsumi accepted the offer. She actually wasn't expecting her to accept it, but she wouldn't question it. "And here I thought you'd just run away." She teased with a soft giggle. It wasn't something she would expect to happen, but it was something that could've happened. If anything, the denial would've been worst hadn't there been one in the first place. What she didn't expect was a smile from the other girl. She was expecting anything from that, but she wasn't one to want anything else. It was good to know that the girl had some sense of humor.

The blond girl watched Satsumi take her seat, but the tensity was obvious to catch. Kikyo felt her smile shrink a little as she took note of the action, though she still kept it on out of courtesy. Honestly, she wouldn't blame her for it. Kikyo should be doing the same, but what is there to worry about in a public place? As far as Kikyo was concerned, it wasn't often for people to be in danger when in public. At least, that's what she hoped. Considering some of the members of this community, it wouldn't be surprising. She just never really witnessed such an event.

"Ah, I'm drinking Matcha. I used to have it all the time when I was little." Kikyo answered. What she liked about it was that it was sweet. Kikyo always enjoyed drinking sweet drinks, which was Matcha. However, she wouldn't go overboard. She wouldn't want anything affecting her health, but she'd be lying if she were to say she never drank a lot when she was little compared to now. When Satsumi mentioned that she had green tea, Kikyo was observing her gestures as she talked. She didn't know why, but she couldn't help but chuckle at the other girl. It was certainly an interesting way to describe green tea, she'll give her that. She never tried green tea, but she'd be willing to try it one day.

When Kikyo was asked what she was going to study if she becomes a genin (and assuming that she would survive), the girl leaned her head onto her face as her expression switched to a pondering look while she still maintained eye contact with Satsumi. "I honestly don't know." She answered. She really didn't know what she would go for. The sky was her limit with so many options to choose from. She never even considered what she was going for; she was too busy worrying about killing her own classmates to become a genin. "I'd say ninjutsu sounds interesting to take on." She added as she made a small shrug. She also considered going for taijutsu, but she would be glad to admit her melee combat abilities are... not up to par. At least, not yet.

"What about you?" Kikyo asked. She noticed that Satsumi has been staring at her for a while, not to mention throwing in a few eye twitches here and there. A little concerned? Yes. Was she at all scared at this point? Why would she be? Kikyo wasn't really one to bother and judge others. It was all about keeping an open mind, even if it's with the dirtiest of all people. "....You know, I've always sort of seen you as someone who might have genjutsu as their first choice. You just give away that mysterious atmosphere that would engross others." She predicted. She wasn't assuming that Satsumi was actually going for genjutsu, but she did give away the look. She'd be surprise to know otherwise, but that was the point of this conversation: to get to know one another. And maybe make a new friend.


[WC: 620 | TWC: 1,739]

The answer of being unsure was expected, and Satsumi didn't bother to really expect anything more from the girl. It wasn't her fault, really. It was simply that when faced with all of the possibilities that were out there, and what might come from your training, and who your teacher was, and any number of things...you really couldn't be someone who answered that question right away. It wasn't how it worked.

However, when the girl continued, then indicating that perhaps she might move into Ninjutsu, Satsumi had to struggle to keep her irritation down. Again, it was nothing particularly wrong with the answer, but Satsumi had gotten that answer a rather large number of times. Granted, some of those times were at the business end of her kunai and as such, she was certain that a lot of people may have just said the first thing that came into their minds, rather than an actual answer.

The disdain may have made itself apparent onto Sumi's face, she wasn't sure, but the thoughts were rolling off of her in waves. But before she had much of a chance to really comment on it, the girl turned the tables on her at that point, asking about her choice. That was new.

“My choice?” she asked, watching the other girl for a moment. “Well, it's certainly not Ninjutsu, that's for sure. No offense,” she added, despite the fact that there may have been some offense intended with the phrasing she'd used. Still, she did lift her hands in a mock defense in addition to her words, so there might have been some honesty to her words all the same. “But anyway, Genjutsu is definitely something I'd like to proceed with, so good on you for calling that. But there is another talent that my mother granted to me that might rear up as well...”

The girl extended the fingers of her left hand, splaying them wide for a moment before tendrils of chakra began to extend outward, latching onto the girl's cup slightly, and with a minor bit of effort, she began to slide the cup to the left, and then back to where it was before the chakra ropes receded. “SO it really depends on the teacher we get, and what they know, and how well they teach, and all of that,” she spoke, gesturing now with her hands in a sort of lackadaisical fashion.

She paused then, before glancing over the blonde-haired girl, curious if she even knew what her real specialization was. She didn't want to blurt it out, of course, but everyone knew that the Dokunagu clan specialized in poisons. Of course, now that Satsumi thought about it a bit, this girl was relatively...new...to this whole shinobi thing. A natural talent, based on how quickly she'd been able to catch up to her peers, but one that was still new.

She didn't know that Satsumi could poison her drink, lacing it with something that could render her without motor function in a matter of minutes. Something that would allow Satusmi to kill her right here and now, and potentially allow her graduation. The girl didn't know any of that.

Of course, Satsumi had no real urge to tell her this, either. The girl knew of her, and she of Kikyo. In fact, all things considered, it was potentially the best person that the poison expert could have met up with to actually achieve something akin to a friendship.

“Engross? Maybe just gross,” the girl spoke, waving a hand. “The other whelps in the academy find me generally unsuitable for conversation or even any real...anything,” she spoke, adding the last word on a little lamely as she gestured with a hand. “I have a bit of a...reputation,” she continued, the lack of any social grace causing her to ramble on a bit, unintentionally dominating the conversation. “So due to that, no one really wishes to speak to me for any longer than telling me to leave, more often than not. What a sad state of affairs,” the girl spoke, despite the fact that while her words might have conveyed that she was saddened by this, the tone was raw indifference. Whether she had simply grown so used to it now that it no longer bothered her, or perhaps it never had, was unknown. But Kikyo would be able to tell that there really were no tones of sadness in her voice. At least not on this topic.

WC: 749 / 2,101

Kikyo took only just the tiniest bit of offense, but she wasn't surprised nor showed it in any way. "None taken." She reassured as she flickered her hand in the air. Ninjutsu was probably a common answer around the community. It did sound interesting for her to learn more about, but there were other things that did pique her interest; taijutsu which involved melee combat, bukijutsu which involved weaponry, and genjutsu which involved fooling one's mind. There was probably more to list, but those were the common specializations a lot of people picked. Kikyo didn't feel like she was physically well to specialize in taijutsu alongside with bukijutsu, and she didn't have the mature mentality to specialize in genjutsu. Of course she would've taken the time to learn about them, but it was more about comfort than tackling... unfamiliar subjects. At least until she was ready.

It looked like Kikyo's assumption was on the right track. Again, genjutsu did sound interesting, but it wasn't really her cup of tea. No pun intended, of course. Not at the moment, to say the least. Maybe one day when she feels comfortable and confident enough, she might just give it a go. Kikyo would just give herself a pat on a back for guessing right, except she wouldn't really do that in the first place. "Good for me." She said with a smile while she took another sip of her tea.

Kikyo's curiosity rose when Satsumi mentioned that she had another talent. Before she knew it, she witnessed small ropes of chakra sprout from her fingers and used them to faintly move her cup tomorrow. Kikyo looked a little bit amazed from the little trick done. "Wow." Kikyo said in slight awe. She couldn't help but look at the fingers of her free hand and back at her own cup. She was positive she wasn't able to pull off something like that, unfortunately. Not yet, but definitely and unfortunately not right now. It was what she got for not enrolling sooner, but she was positive that she would catch up.

The blonde girl felt her smile shrink a little when Satsumi told her about her experiences with other fellow classmates at the academy. It wasn't something that Kikyo was necessarily shocked or sad at, but she did have some empathy for her even if it looked like Satsumi wasn't affected by this. "Mm." She softly hummed in response. Kikyo slid her eyes away from the black haired girl to glance at an empty table before she released a gentle sigh. She let the silence run for a few seconds before she resumed talking. "Well," she started off as she carefully slid her eyes back to Satsumi, widening her small smile a little bit for reassurance. "I think you're pretty interesting to talk to." She continued with a little nod. Well while there might be more to this girl than Kikyo would expect, but as of now she didn't find anything wrong with her. Even if there might be some potential bizarre facts coming at her way, she knew how to keep her cool.

Silence would fill up again as the blonde haired girl would try to think of another topic to move on to. Although this topic didn't seem to affect Satsumi herself, Kikyo, on the inside, was surely getting a little depressed just from hearing that. "...So your mother taught you that, huh." Kikyo spoke, referring to the tiny ropes of chakra used to move the cup around. "I'd assume that she must be some sort of ninjutsu specialist? Or genjutsu?" She asked. Kikyo's parents were far from supportive of her being a shinobi, so it felt like she was talking to an opposite of her; someone who was a shinobi and had parents who were shinobi. The experience wasn't exactly exciting, but it was very interesting to say the least.


[WC: 649 | TWC: 2,388]

Satsumi wasn't entirely sure if the words had caused Kikyo any undue stress, but the fact of the matter was, she didn't much care eithe rway. The girl was raised to speak her mind on all fronts, which was one of the main reasons that she hadn't quite graduated even at her age. There were several students that were younger than she was that had already succeeded through the academy and were doing missions as Genin. Not that she minded- there were a few that had tried to come after her, back then, to try and off her, but the girl had proven more skilled than they had expected. It was simply that she was determined to succed through poison, rather than anything else. That made things difficult, as breaking into the home of someone to poison their food wasn't too difficult when it was just a civilian, but when it was a shinobi-in-training, most-times their parents were also shinobi, and as such, she was often caught and thrown out for her troubles.

"It's just basic stuff," Satsumi spoke, despite the fact that it was not, in fact, basic in what she had done. PUppetry was something that her mother used quite often and used it for everything from cleaning the house, to giving Satsumi a beating if she misbehaved, and many things in between. Her father didn't have much talent in it, but as what happens often with children learning from both sides of their parentage, she was one that had inherited a bit of both. Not nearly as skilled as her mother when it came to puppets, nor her father when it came to poisons, but something in the middle.

She felt some sort of strange satisfaction at seeing the smile start to fade a bit on the other girl's face. Not that she wanted to make the other hurt, necessarily, but it was nice to know that someone felt a little depressed based on the fact she didn't get the chance to talk and converse with the other students as often as everyone else. Generally, given her proclivity toward poisons, many just avoided her altogether. "INteresting is one way to put it," Satsumi said, smirking a bit before she moved to take a drink of the green tea from her waterskin, merely watching the other for the entire drink, before she put it away. "I'm not like most of the others, here, though I suppose neither are you," she continued, leaning forward a little more, her red-eyed gaze searching as she looked over the girl's features. "Maybe that's why you can tolerate me long enough to learn that I'm not going to kill you at my first given chance."

As the silence fell, Satsumi merely continued to watch, her own gaze wide and unblinking as it always was, aside from the occasional eye twitch that came from spending too much time with poisons, leaving her right eye with a mild itch at almost all hours of the day. Her father insisted she wear goggles, but the girl hadn't really bothered or planned on doing so. It interfered with her vision too much. She had thought the conversation over there, and honestly, that wouldn't have surprised the Dokunagu. But as she was thinking of a way to disengage herself, she was pleasantly surprised when the girl asked her a question then. "Ah...my mother," the girl spoke, finally leaning back away from the table a bit as she lost herself in thought for a moment.

"Mother is...interesting. She's a medical shinobi by trade, and that expertise with her chakra led her to using it to control the instruments with finer control than she can her own hands," the girl spoke, gesturing with her hands as she spoke, indicating with her fingers the strands of chakra that would come out during a medical procedure. "She can puppeteer far better than I can, but she prefers to use them for more...mundane reasons. It does allow her to clean the entire house in about a third the time it would normally take her...though that means we have...I think four different brooms scattered throughout for her to control," the girl spoke, thinking for a moment. "But she does as she wishes, and very few think to counteract her, due to her superb chakra control."

"Father, on the other hand, has very little skill with Chakra at all," she admitted, a small laugh coming from her lips. "Hand-to-hand combat and the Dokunagu specialty are what he focuses on," the girl continued, before she paused, leaning forward. "Though that is giving away far too much information on my end. What of your parents? What do they do?" she asked, the girl's face drawing closer once more, eager for the information. She obviously hadn't held a conversation with a peer in a great deal of time, and the too-close questions were likely a result of that.

WC: 820 / 2,921

"A medical shinobi...." Kikyo repeated the words to herself. She didn't make it a secret that she was fascinated as the other girl continued to explain her mother's profession and her skills in it through her facial expression of awe. Medical ninjutsu was something the blonde haired girl was very aware of and was something she once considered attempting to study. She thought it was something her parents would at least approve, but nonetheless anything with the words "shinobi" in them was automatic denial. Kikyo felt as if being a medical shinobi wasn't right for her either, mainly because she wanted to focus on being more, she didn't really know how to explain it, but the best she could describe as was to be "more out there" than a medical shinobi. On the other side, this would explain how Satsumi was able to create those little ropes of chakra.

When the other girl transitioned to her father, Kikyo naturally found herself also giving a giggle of her own. The blonde girl didn't really see herself as someone who would rely on her body as her own weapon, mainly because she didn't rely on strength. At least, not right now she didn't. Of course she was going to develop and improve her assets, but as of now she was someone who relied on speed more than anything. If she couldn't hit hard, then at least she can strike fast which could at least do some damage. While Kikyo did understand being a melee specialist (if that's what they'd call it), but she didn't ask about the "Dokunagu specialty", mainly because she'd feel stupid ask. It was for the best to just nod and smile, even if she didn't understand. Kikyo would most likely go to someone and ask about the clan so she'd feel more informed and less left out.

"Well, it sounds like your parents are an interesting bunch. Better than mine, at least." was all Kikyo had to say, still maintaining the awe on her face. Satsumi's parents were a lot better to hear about compared to her own. There was nothing special about them at all; they were just simple civilians living out their simple lives. Kikyo had no problem about their lifestyle. Why should she? If they didn't want to become shinobi, then that was perfectly fine for Kikyo. It'd be too late for her to suggest otherwise, anyway. They were just a loving married couple who enjoyed their little restaurant business. The problem was that they tried to force Kikyo to live the same mundane lifestyle, pushing away all of her dreams and goals away of become a strong shinobi. It was what ticked her off and run away in the first place.

The awe in Kikyo's face were quick to fade away as Kikyo was returned the same question. Just when her thoughts were on her parents, of course she'd be asked about them. "Hmm... my parents..." She sighed as it was her turn to lean back in her seat with both of her arms crossed and one leg resting over the other. It didn't look like she was too much of a fan of talking about her parents, but that didn't mean she was uncomfortable about it. Otherwise, she would've dodged the question with a very vague response.

"My parents aren't anything special. They both own a little restaurant which I can say is somewhat successful." Kikyo started off with a shrug from her shoulders. "They didn't approve of me becoming a shinobi because it'd be too dangerous for me and went as far as to try and force me into a more... 'ordinary' life. Trying to force me to do things that were either uninteresting or something I greatly hated. When I was old enough to actually understand the decisions I make, the consequences behind them, and learning what regret was and how to not feel it, I ran away to pursue my dream. A friend was kind enough to let me stick around in their home until I get myself together." She explained. There was more to this, but Kikyo figured that this was more than enough.

"And I don't think they care either, otherwise they would've found me on the streets and force me back home." That was something that didn't occur even to Kikyo before she said it. That was a point the blonde haired girl didn't realize until now. Now that it even mattered in the first place, but it was something that never really crossed her mind at all. It was sad to admit, but nonetheless she really didn't care.

"I... just figured you can't please everyone with what you want." Kikyo added with a light giggle. "But I can understand their hatred of my dreams. Considering the requirements of graduating the academy... I don't think I could really blame them." She sighed. She went back to square one: graduating. She still couldn't see herself kill a random stranger, specifically students around her age or even younger than that. If it was a brawl to win, then sure, Kikyo would welcome it with open arms. But killing someone? Someone else's child? It just didn't feel right. It was a thought that she would have to get used to, but that didn't meant it sat with her right... for now.

Kikyo went silent for a moment as her eyes darted from her cup and back to Satsumi. There was something she wanted to ask her, but she didn't want to set off any alarms for the other girl nor herself. Still, she felt it was something worth asking and wanting to take someone else's perspective on this topic. "Do you favor the requirement of killing someone to graduate?" She asked. There was some discomfort in her voice as she asked that question. She wasn't intimidated by the idea entirely, but it definitely made her feel uneasy. "The thought of killing someone you know right off the bat after you've spent some time with them, befriending them, and now you have to behead them to showcase your skills and dominance." She continued with a sigh. Kikyo felt as if she knew what Satsumi would say, but it would be better for her to keep her mouth shut and let Satsumi speak her mind on this.


[WC: 1,055 | TWC: 3,443]

If there was one thing that Satsumi that wasn't use to seeing, it was someone actually being interested in what she had to say. She was one who could carry on a conversation with herself for quite some time if she needed, or watned to, but for the most part, the poison user was quiet. And that was strange that the girl was now suddenly given an experience to open up to someone else. She had to admit though, that the girl before her was someone that she had a bit of interest, in. "Yeah. Well, retired now. Sorta. She was more of a field medic. When people got eviscerated on the battlefield and were bleeing from every orifice and had their insides on their outsides...that's where she thrived. She helps with the emergency medicine sometimes. Kind of on-call. I don't think she particularly enjoys doing the more mundane tasks around the office," she spoke, shrugging slightly. Her mother had always been hands-on. In fact, the poison-user couldn't really remember a time where her mother wasn't doing something.

Sharing information about her fater too was something that Satsumi didn't often do. Mostly because it was something of a taboo to reveal that information out. It was...almost like it was to be protected. Something that went beyond everything else. But of course, she was actually getting to talk to someone for the first time and so she was losing a bit of her usual understanding of how present the situation and simply was letting out everything that was in her head, whether or not it should be protected. Of course, sharing this information with an outsider would be far more dangerous than sharing it with a fellow shinobi- even if they were both in training. It was something that very well could happen on a mission, and she was starting to realize it herself, which led to asking the other girl about her own family.

"I don't know about all of that...they're just parents. They do what they're supposed to do as shinobi. Mom doesn't even really do much of anything on mission anymore...Dad still does a lot though," she spoke, the girl once mroe finding it strange that she was so easily trasnmitting the information. Having someone to open up to and talk to was a little...strange for her. However, the return question came then, to satiate Satsumi's curiosity about the other's parents, as well as to pull the microscope off of her own family. She didn't dare talk about anyone else in her clan- that would very well lead her to getting beaten and that wasn't something she'd like to experience today, or any time soon.

As Kikyo began to explain that they were relatively mundane, the girl's eyes widened a little, leaning forward once more. "They're...not shinobi," she spoke, as if the thought of such had never even occurred to her. And in all honesty it really hadn't. She didn't really think she'd ever stopped to consider that there might be a life out there where you weren't a shinobi. It just felt bizarre to her. In her whole life, she'd always been surrounded by her peers that all had the same mindset, and even at home, her family too was all built around it. To know someone from outside of that lifestyle was...interesting. She knew a little about Kikyo's origins, but hearing that they were the owners of a restaurant somehow made it all the more real. Like the people that served her tea not moments ago were real people as well.

"Regret, hm?" The girl echoed, beginning to absently twirl some of her hair around one of her fingers. Regret was something that came when you did something with unintended consequences...or didn't do something that you'd never know the outcome of. She supposed that if she were to reach out right now and poison Kikyo's drink, letting the girl die choking on the ground while her muscle systems shut down, she might come to regret having met Satsumi this day. Of course, Satsumi could also potentially come to regret the loss of what could be a friend as well. "And so what if your parents don't care?" the girl asked, glancing from the wooden table back up to Kikyo, watching her with a curiosity etched onto her face, now. "Or if they haven't tried to find you or whatever? That just kind of means that they at least trust you to take care of yourself, if nothing else. Probably, anyway. I'm not a parent so I don't know, but it seems right."

The girl moved to the whole of the matter which she was...mostly likely dwelling on when Satsumi had first shown up, now that she thought about it. The girl seemed like she had been down about something, and then now hearing the way her tone shifted when it came to it...she figured that must be it. Her deductive shinobi senses were telling her that it was the case...though she knew better than to simply rely on that. Confirmation was also important. "Is that what was on your pretty little head when I came in here?" the girl asked, grinning widely for a moment, before she shook her head, leaning back a little from the table now, rather than the uncomfortably close that she'd been up until this point. "Well you don't need to worry. I've already considered killing you and then decided against it," Satsumi spoke flippantly, waving a hand in the girl's direction. "So don't worry. I'll make sure that anyone that comes after you ends up dead too."

The girl exhaled then, figuring that she should probably answer the question. "I'm not completely opposed to it, no. It happens a lot in our line of work," she began, once more absently beginning to twirl hair around her finger. "So we need to be sure that we're actually able to do it, you know?" she spoke, the red eyes drifting from the table where she had been looking over to the girl across from her. "But I think that it should be dependent on your skillset, too. I can't kill anyone the way that I want to. It's why I haven't graduated yet," she admitted. "Which might just mean I'm bad at what I do," she admitted with a little grin.

WC: 1058 / 3,979

Kikyo was thrown off from the reaction given when she revealed that her parents weren't shinobi. "Amazing, isn't it?" Kikyo asked with sarcasm. She was surprised at the surprise really. But she did understand why. The majority of the people that reside in this village share the same attitude: they thought they have what it takes to become a shinobi, and then there was the minority who would rather be in a more peaceful and subtle lifestyle; a lifestyle that Kikyo didn't see herself fitting too well in. In a village like Kirigakure, it would put someone's guard down a bit to discover that some people were not willing to become a shinobi. The thought of that alone was a little disappointing if she had to be honest.  She could feel herself frowning on the inside, but this was something she had to expect.

Kikyo wouldn't really say that there was some sort of trust built in between her decision to run away and her parents. In fact, it was more or less far from that. "Well, I wouldn't really say that they'd trust me is just an excuse to not look for me, they just don't care." Kikyo stated with a sigh. At least, that's how she saw it. She assumed they knew very well of her intentions after all these years, it's just that they weren't willing to stop her, no matter how hard they'd try to convince her to go for literally anything else but a shinobi. She couldn't help but fumble a tiny bit in her seat when she talked about her parents not giving a single care about her runaway. It was a sad reality on the blonde haired girl's part, but the sad reality was a reality that had to be dealt with one way or another.

Kikyo rose a brow when Satsumi admitted she had consideration into killing the blonde haired girl, but thankfully changed her mind. Either way, she wasn't too sure if she should thank her or feel uncomfortable, even if she was willing to kill someone for her. Her response, of course, went with the latter. Kikyo formed a V-shape with her hands and held them below her chin, widening her smile. "Is it because you couldn't resist this cute face that you've decided to try and not kill me? I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to protect me." She joked with a laugh. That probably wouldn't be the case, but Kikyo wouldn't blame the other girl if it was partly the point. Who would want to kill someone who has charming facial features like Kikyo? Actually, it was a question that she'd rather not have answered.

She crossed her arms back together when she heard Satsumi's answer to a concept Kikyo has yet to grasp herself onto. "Good point." She commented. It was true, as much as she'd hate to admit it. It was something that she actually kept thinking about. At some point, she would have to kill someone; she couldn't beat around the bush, she couldn't leave someone heavily injured, it was all about going in for the kill. She might have to deal with taking other people's lives as she ranks up, even those that don't really deserve it. Kikyo could already feel rough shivers traveling down her spine it made her a bit uneasy.

"Well don't kill them how you want to, just do it. Trying to have some style for it could really cost you." Kikyo mentioned. It was her take on why Satsumi didn't graduate, but she could be wrong. Kikyo feared of not graduating, but she wouldn't be surprised if that ends up happening. She would just have to get accustomed to seeing blood, and maybe even more of it as she gets promoted. "But at least I get to see a familiar face if I were to fail." Kikyo chuckled. Failure, again, was something she didn't want to happen, but wouldn't be shocked if it did.

"So, do you think we'd end up on the same team if we were to pass?" Kikyo asked. Just a random question out of the blue, but it was something that just caught her attention. She was hoping nor doubting for it to happen, but it was interesting to imagine what their teamwork would look like. Hopefully it'd look good, but she wasn't going to fool herself to think that it would actually look good.


[WC: 741 | TWC: 4,184]

Satsumi had begun to tap her lips in a rather rapid fashion when the thoughts had started to come through to her that there existed people who were not, in fact, shinobi. She wondered if that's what it was like to be rich, and then suddenly realize that there were poor people. Was it really that much different? There was an entire society built around the shinobi, and that was the only world that she had ever been a part of. The fact that there was another world out there entirely was something of a mystery to the young woman. It was curious and exciting and she wanted to know more. At the same time, however, she couldn't really demand to know more. Or rather, she could, but she felt it would be in poor taste. The fact that she wasn't able to tell what was, and wasn't, in poor taste, however, was annoying all on its own.

"Maybe. You know your parents better than I do anyway. If they don't care for you though even if you're coming to do something dangerous like this, then they probably wouldn't have cared about you doing anything else anyway and in that case, you're better off having left in the first place as far as I can tell," the girl spoke, shrugging slightly in response. Her parents were somewhere between supportive and doting, the occasional beating disguised as a training aside. Her father said it was to toughen her up, and her mother said that if she could learn to defend herself then the beatings would stop. So while it wasn't exactly the most...polite way for the parents to deal with their child, she supposed that they did have her best future in mind.

At Kikyo's response, Satsumi let out a barking laugh. "Maybe that was it," the girl spoke, before shaking her head. "But no really, it was due to the fact that you actually spoke to me like a person instead of something that's a hair trigger away from doing something incredibly dangerous and to be fearful," the girl spoke, her red eyes turning to meet the blonde's own, widening slightly. Not so much as in fear or excitement or anything...it just seemed to be the natural reaction that Satsumi had whenever she looked someone at the eyes. The eyes were the windows to the soul, and Satsumi's wore no curtains or blinds. Fully open, she simply stared before blinking once. "So good on you for bein ga nice person. It may have saved your life," the girl spoke, nodding.

"But I want to kill in a particular way," the girl returned, the wide red eyes flashing in what looked like a brief rush of anger, but the girl didn't let the anger, if that is indeed what that emotion was, seep into her voice. "Anyone can kill anyone else," she spoke, her tone obviously not considering of Kikyo and her very obvious hesitations upon doing so. "That's boring. I need to do things my way. Think about when you gear up in the morning. You have your way that you do things. When you go to sleep, you have a routine. That's what makes you, you. If I did it just any old way then I wouldn't be me, I'd be someone else," the girl spoke, gesturing a little wildly with her hands before her left forefinger began to tap on the wooden table.

At the girl's words, Satsumi paused her tapping, leaning back a bit. "This is true...maybe I should base my attempts at success upon yours," she mused quietly, beginning to lightly tap on the wooden table again. However, that thought was immediately stopped by the second question. "I..." she began, mulling this over with considerable more thought than she had given her first answer. "We're similar in age, I think. We've got that going for us. Neither of us are particularly inclined to fight in hand-to-hand, so they may hand us off to an instructor who either does, or doesn't specialize in that. There are many variables and I wish I knew the answer but I don't know. Maybe we can just kill everyone else and so they have to put the two of us together if we graduate?" The girl asked, and there was a small moment where she appeared genuine in that statement before she shook her head. "Kidding."

"...Mostly."

She winked at the other girl then, though it could have been an eye twitch, as well. “So what's your plan for taking out one of our fellows to get to Genin? You want to put a kunai between their ribs? A bomb trap on their front door? Catch them off guard? Fight them man-to-man?” she asked, each of her questions getting progressively quicker at the different thoughts of violence.

“Mine is poison,” she admitted, not even realizing that she was giving away her trademark secret as her finger continued to tap on the table, the excitement brewing within her.

WC: 837 / 4,816

Kikyo was unsure if she should take her being kind in exchange of her life being spared as a compliment or another case of feeling uneasy. Nonetheless, she was still alive and that was all that mattered. Right? "Hmm." She hummed as she returned the stare at Satsumi's eyes. "Maybe next time I should be more tough and rough the next time we meet. Just to show you how fearful I really am." She jokingly reassured. It wasn't in her nature to be tough, personality wise; specifically arrogance and cockiness. Not intentionally at least. It wasn't something that she could just slip in all of a sudden. She couldn't act like she's all that even if she tried. Kikyo didn't have a tough attitude, but she sure can be fresh and smart with people. It was a talent in her eyes to get on people's nerves so easily, but only when necessary and not for the hell out of it. Well, most of the time.

It looked like Satsumi was really determined to kill how she wants to, passionate for a moment about it actually, and Kikyo couldn't really judge. It was basically all about uniqueness. As much as the blonde haired girl was definitely more than willing to debate against the statement, this was how Satsumi felt and Kikyo didn't think she could try to convince her otherwise, even if all of the blonde haired girl's points were valid. There were many other ways to kill people and manage to brush it off as your own, but Kikyo didn't bother to bring it up. The only thing she could do is patiently nod and listen (and watch the gestures) to Satsumi. "While I don't necessarily agree... I'll just accept how you feel." Kikyo said. Something told her things would go south if she tried to create an argument, and the last thing she wants is to end things on a bad note with this girl.

Kikyo didn't even realize that the two didn't have much interest for melee combat. It was interesting now that it was brought up. "As much as I'd love to help slaughter our entire class just for us to be together, I don't think that's how it works." She giggled. She didn't even want to imagine that happening. She wasn't thirsty for blood just for the sake of it nor will she ever be. Well, that's what she hopes. All she knew was that it wasn't in her character, and that was that.

The blonde girl was a little bit surprised at how excited Satsumi got when she asked what she would do to one of the classmates she would have to kill, but it was a little amusing to say the least. "Who knows? You might be surprised at what I have up my sleeves." She cooed with a wink of her own. Truth be told, Kikyo would know what she would do if she actually knew who she was up against. Not that she didn't have a plan or anything, unlike her fellow classmate who blurted out her plan, but Kikyo's plan may or may not work. That doesn't mean she can't improv, though.

"You know, since we both aren't going to be specialized in melee combat, I figure we should change that by training with each other. That way, we can show our instructor and other classmates a thing or two. Show what we're capable right now while we still have the chance." Kikyo suggested. Training with someone else, to her, was a lot better than doing it alone. Sparring with a real person was more authentic and can help realize the flaws shown between the individuals.

Then a sly smirk crawled onto Kikyo's lips as she tilted her head. "If you want, we can even make a little bet for ourselves if you choose to spar together." What better way to make a spar more tense than a bet? At least to the blonde haired girl, bets always increased the entertainment value. "Loser gets to buy whatever the winner wants for lunch. Or maybe the winner dictates the loser whatever they want if buying lunch is too cheesy." She mentioned. Kikyo would love to have lunch bought for her. She had a better punishment in mind if she were to win, but she wouldn't give her hopes up if she managed to lose.

"But that is, if you're willing to accept. I understand if you'd say no; I'd say no if I were talking to me, actually." Kikyo snickered.


[WC: 758 | 4,942]

“I'm curious just how rough and tumble you could be, my dear...” she spoke, dragging her fingers across the table for a moment, before drumming her fingers following. “I could show you my fiercest face too, she spoke, smirking a bit, before leaning in, placing her elbows heavily on the table as she listened to her friend speak, merely preferring to disagree with her. That was fine- Satsumi didn't want to have to prove to the blond girl that poisons were, of course, the superior method of killing someone.

The easiest way to have proven that was to have killed her, and that was something that she couldn't really stand to do. At least not now. Perhaps another time, if things took a turn for the worse. Those thoughts, however, were dispelled then, as the girl continued to share in the humor (at least as Satsumi found it) of murdering their entire class to end up as a team. The thought was dour, but the Dokunagu girl was...not wholly against it.

“I suppose that we could try to shore up our weaknesses by fighting against one another,” the dark-haired girl spoke, having leaned back now, showing that she wasn't quite as fond of the idea of having to fight directly with her fists and feet. Unlike her father, who specialized in it, she had never really found the idea...satisfying. It was like getting to haul rocks. It only made your fingers hurt afterward, and you'd be sore and tired, and most of the time, there was a far easier way to do what you'd just spent far too long doing.

Working with her puppetry, or poisons, or even genjutsu...these were all things that Satsumi could do instead, but her new friend wanted to go toe-to-toe. “Though we might end up just giving one another our bad habits...” she added, tapping lightly on the table, before she reached down to her waist, pulling the green tea from her belt and taking another long drink of it. “But I think that it might be worth a shot. Plus, mom might actually appreciate my training for once if I were to actually say I got to spar with someone from my class, instead of just going up against Jack.”

She paused then, realizing that the girl before her likely had no idea who Jack was. “Most of the time,” she spoke, beginning to explain herself, “when I do training, I'll control a puppet, and then use it to attack. It helps for...you know the boring things. Positioning, where the weak points are, ending the fight with one kunai, that sort of thing. But it's really kind of boring considering I know what Jack, that's my puppet's name, is going to do. So maybe getting to actually go one-on-one with someone else might be a little interesting.”

When it came to the talk of the bet, the dark-haired girl gave a small laugh. It was genuine, and she ran her tongue along her teeth. “This must be the rough and tumble side of you that you were talking about earlier,” the girl said with a small smirk on her features. “A gamble, you say...” she continued, before listening to the options that were given to her as potentials. While the idea of having Kikyo have to do whatever she wanted was an interesting thought, and one that honestly intrigued her...she also knew that this was their first meeting. An agreement to such a thing would be foolish. While Satsumi thought she had a good read on Kikyo, the girl could be playing her for a fool.

“I could think of a large number of things that we could request of one another...but...” she spoke, before exhaling a small breath, showing that she was rather...saddened to drop the stakes down a bit. “We have just met and while I find your ability to engage me in conversation and not want to harm me absolutely stupefying and titillating at the same time...I think that we should probably spar over something more mundane like lunch. It can be a date,” Satsumi exclaimed, probably a little too excited for her own good at that prospect.

Satsumi moved to stand then, stretching her arms up high over her head before leaning forward a bit, stretching out like a cat before she stood, putting a hand on her hip. “Did you want to go and trade blows right now? Or did you want to set a date and time to try and not-quite-kill one another?” she asked, once more giving the blond girl a wink, before she took a half-step back, waiting to see. “If right now...I'm sure we can find a place where we won't be disturbed.

WC: 791 / 5607

Kikyo smiled as she nodded in agreement with what Satsumi said. "That's the spirit." She said. It was good to know that Satsumi accepted the offer, even if it didn't look like she was too happy with the idea. Well, maybe the word "happy" was a little too strong to expect an offer to spar, but it didn't change the fact that the other girl looked like she'd rather do something else. Kikyo, on the other hand, didn't mind it too much. The blonde girl would've change the options and allow more than just training on melee combat if that what she wanted, but why not work on something they both needed to improve on?

Just when Kikyo was baffled when the other girl threw the name Jack into the conversation, it was quickly revealed that it was a puppet that she used to train. It wasn't often the blonde haired girl would encounter and student and mention they used a puppet to train. As a matter of fact, she was positive she hasn't came across anyone else like that. "Well then, aren't you glad I've brought up sparring with each other instead?" Kikyo laughed. Her way of training was the typical strike-in-the-air routine while running around with hopes to improve her physical conditions. She could've trained with other students, but that was at a time she didn't feel to comfortable. And here she is now, challenging someone to a spar.

She was actually surprised that Satsumi wasn't willing to go anything higher than buying lunch as punishment. It actually made Kikyo gasp; not a real one, she wasn't that shocked, but it was more of a teasing manner than anything. "So you mean to tell me that you, who was more than open to admit you considered killing me, a stranger refuse to raise the stakes because we've just met?" She questioned. She'd admit, it did brought up some confusion for the blonde haired girl. Why did the other girl already had plans to kill off little ol' Kikyo, but not to anything she had in mind for her if she were to win their spar? Either way, Kikyo didn't mind it too much. Still, it was an interesting observation to say the least.

"But I guess it can't be helped." Kikyo shrugged, accepting the conditions. While a date didn't add much excitement, as long as she wasn't paying would be good enough. Not that she didn't mind paying, but she rather wouldn't. "And here I thought you'd look even more adorable in all pink." She sarcastically sighed. That was one of the many few punishments Kikyo had in mind if she were to win the spar; dress Satsumi in all pink. Whether or not Satsumi would actually mind it wasn't really in the question, but it'd be an amusing sight to witness. "Now I wonder what you had in mind to lower the stakes." She mentioned. Hopefully something more humane and decency as a human Kikyo hoped? "On second thought, I'd rather you not answer that." She mumbled. It was probably for the best, anyway.

Kikyo got up her seat as Satsumi asked when they would spar. Right now sounded like a good time, and the blonde haired girl knew the perfect place to spar. It even made her grow a big grin on her face. "Right now is good. As a matter of fact, I know the perfect place. Follow me." She said with a nod as she turned around. As fast as her body would allow her to be when her body turned around, she quickly turned it back as she hung out her left foot out in the open, spun it towards Satsumi and aimed it right at the other girl's right side. The impact wouldn't be so rough since her strength overall was stuck in between average and below average, but it was enough to inflict some pain.

"I think right here is the perfect spot."


[WC: 662 | TWC: 5,604]

At the girl's apparent confusion, Satsumi rolled her eyes a little, making a gesture. “Well sure. If I kill you, then it's over and done with. You're a messy memory that I will look back upon at random intervals with varying emotions based on my own current emotional state at the time,” the girl spoke, being a little too matter-of-fact with how she was presenting that particular situation, but at the same time, it seemed about right for her. “But if I don't kill you and then push you into something fun and embarrassing and you live, then it's something that we both have to deal with for years to come. Until one of us dies and then we go back to the memory thing,” she indicated, gesturing with her fingers.

Her expression fell, however, at the mention of wearing all pink, and she glanced down to her own black-and-sliver wardrobe, before she frowned. “See I had all sorts of more interesting ideas lined up,” she spoke, her eyes widening a bit, this time in actual excitement as she bit her lower lip. “Wearing pink wouldn't be all that bad...probably,” she spoke, actually stopping herself to pause for a moment as she considered the task, glancing back down over herself for a moment. She didn't think she even owned anything in pink.

Not because she was against the color, but simply because it wasn't something that a shinobi would wear. It would stand out, and it would be very easy to spot you, no matter where you were. She'd heard tell of others wearing other bright colors but it just...didn't make much sense to her to do that. So if Kiyko wanted the girl to wear pink then maybe she would do so. She could even dye some of her hair pink to go along with it...

Kikyo then voiced her own curiosities upon what things that Satsumi had in mind, and the dark-haired girl was only too eager to step forward, ready to talk...when the other changed her mind. “Well you told me one...I could tell you one,” she spoke, “but I don't think that you would be much game for helping me hold down one of the bigger assholes in our class and let me put a syringe of acid into his veins,” the girl spoke, biting her lip a little harder now at the exciting thought that came behind it.

The conversation, however, soon turned onto the actual spar itself, and Satsumi readied herself for wherever it was that Kikyo wanted to go. Supposedly she knew a spot, and so she wondered what that spot might be. There were a lot of different places here in the town, and while most of them didn't really care too much if they fought-

Her thoughts were immediately interrupted as she saw Kikyo's entire body pivot, coming around to Satsumi's side. The girl barely managed to get an arm in the way, letting it crash against her forearm rather than her ribs, but it still hurt as she shifted to the side. “What a naughty girl,” Satsumi cooed with a bit of excitement in her tone. Her first instinct was to utilize her puppetry, but she knew, of course, that the idea was to fight normally, with just hand-to-hand. She would have preferred something more exciting but she supposed she couldn't exactly enact poisoned weapons here.

With Kikyo now only on a single foot, Satsumi's stance shifted as she flowed in, coiling like a snake before striking, her left fist lashing out toward the girl's abdomen, ignoring the cries behind her of the store owners as the two girls began to do something that very likely could cause some destruction of their storefront. Not that Satsumi much minded, pulled her weight behind the blow, masking it as more of a feint, before darting back away from her opponent, not wanting to be pinned so closely to the table...she wanted more room to move.

“Let's see how you move!” she called, before she closed the distance after her jab, thrusting outward with a singular kick with her right leg, letting most of her weight be upon her left, now.

WC: 700 / 6307

In her head, she expected Satsumi had her guard down, assuming that Kikyo meant no harm and was willing to talk to the untalkable. It would've given her a head start to this spar. Instead, the other girl used her forearms to block the kick, which caused Kikyo to show a little bit of a wobbling motion while her foot stayed connected to the arm. She did notice the other girl lacked the timing to actually defend her sides, but at least she knew that she was on her guard, which was a plus. Though, this was something he blonde haired girl took note of. "Huh, and where I thought that'd be enough to get at least one hit on you. I'll give you credit on that." She giggled. She wasn't disappointed, but it would've been better if the kick connected.

Unfortunately on Kikyo's part, she wasn't paying attention to the fist that landed on her stomach. Although it didn't inflict much pain, the blonde haired girl made a soft grunt as she swung her left foot back on the ground, leaning forward to comfort some of the minor pain traveling on her stomach. Despite the impact, Kikyo's eyes were still on Satsumi as she moved back, making sure she wouldn't get out of her sight. Fooled her once with her not paying attention, but it won't happen again. At least, that's what she'd hope.

As Satsumi came back in with a thrust kick, Kikyo sidestepped to the right of Satsumi's leg and used both of her arms to wrap them around, but had a light grip on it. As she glared at Satsumi, her smile widen as she said in a gentle voice in response to the other girl's comment, "With pleasure." Of course she'd be more than happy to showcase where her overall skill set was at; most importantly, her speed. Strength wasn't on par, which was something the blonde haired girl was gladly willing to admit, but she had some confidence in her speed.

Kikyo bent her right knee only slightly, just enough for her left leg to have a larger sweeping range. In a swift motion, she would then proceed to use her free leg to sweep at the leg Satsumi stood on, and then, if the sweep was a success, Kikyo would then lock Satsumi's ankle onto her left forearm and then use her other hand to apply some pressure onto said ankle, holding her into an ankle lock.


[WC: 414 | 6,018]

“I didn't expect it, that's for sure,” Satsumi responded, grinning viciously at the other girl. “But if I had, I would have done something a good bit meaner than that,” the dark-haired girl said with a small laugh, before their exchange took place. She could tell, even from the brief back-and-forth that Kikyo was faster than her. Not that it was too much of a surprise, given the fact that Satsumi wasn't really focused too much on her speed at any given point. She was on the slow side for the most part, and her resilience allowed her to often take blows to deliver them.

The problem was, with her hand-to-hand style, she wouldn't really be able to put out any major damage onto Kikyo. Granted, she did have that to do, but she didn't really want to do something like that to a friend if she didn't have to. Of course, they still had but one meeting- were they to be considered friends at that point? Maybe Kikyo had lured her into a sort of false sense, here. Maybe this was where she found out that she'd been fooled, and now, she was about to be killed here by the girl.

As soon those thoughts finished, and Satsumi's foot thrust outward in a powerful kick that would have done some damage (if it had hit,) she saw the other girl moving quickly, the blonde grasping ahold of her foot before the girl's leg kicked out the one that she was still standing on. Satsumi let out a grunt as the leg collided with hers, and there was a second where it looked like the dark haired girl might not go down, but then her knee buckled, coming down as Kikyo locked in the ankle hold.

“Ah...so this is how you fight,” the girl spoke, in mild pain from the hold that the girl had on her. Dokunagu were built tough...mostly from the fact that they often accidentally poisoned themselves when they were younger, and while with most one might think it would harm their constitution, it actually pushed it higher and further. It was some sort of reaction, she supposed, to their clan's own abilities. She wouldn't be all that surprised if she was able to make her own blood poisonous like her father could, eventually.

The ankle lock was a double edged sword for Kikyo. It was an advantageous situation to be sure, as far as being able to damage the Dokunagu. However, it forced her to be immobile, and that was something that the Dokunagu could use to her own advantage. She turned her body, her leg twisting in Kikyo's grasp, as Satsumi put her back to the ground, beginning use her hands to crawl backward back toward the blonde girl, before beginning to throw open plam strikes at the other girl's legs. If speed was her game, Satsumi would let her ankle break if it meant breaking down her opponent's speed.

“Fighting someone else is so much fun~” Satsumi cooed, despite the constant eye-twitching from her, indicating the pain that she was self-inflicting from twisting around her leg in this hold Kikyo had on her.

WC: 532 / 6,839

"Trust me, this is only a quarter of what I can do." Kikyo said with a snicker. This was her joshing around with her capabilities in fighting than attempting to brag about them. To be frank, she was surprised she managed to get Satsumi in an ankle lock. This was probably the results of her nearly damaging her entire body just to run faster; better reaction time and quicker movement. Who would've known? If she had to be honest, this was her first time ever sparring with anyone. She knew how well some of her fellow classmates were out for blood even in a sparring session. Kikyo, while she mostly doesn't have much doubt about her fighting abilities, the last thing she'd ever want is to somehow kill them, let alone that being something Kikyo can handle.

The blonde haired girl assumed she could easily beat the other girl into submission despite not putting in all of her might (and not even having the proper strength) into the hold. However, Kikyo felt Satsumi's leg rotate in her hold much to the blonde haired girl's mild confusion (and impressed with how flexible she was). She then felt pain beginning to pulse all over her legs the longer she held the other girl in the ankle hold. Kikyo gritted her teeth together as she tried to endure the pain as much as she could so she couldn't break her lock on Satsumi's ankle.

Unfortunately, Kikyo had no other choice but to break the lock. As she released Satsumi's, she felt herself stumbling back a little before she voluntarily dropped to the ground. She made a soft wince as she landed, but she still made sure that the distance between her and the other girl was close. "If I had to be honest, I wouldn't think you'd be good at knowing how to throw a punch or two." Kikyo admitted. She didn't necessarily doubt that the other girl was terrible or let alone assume she couldn't fight at all, but based on their earlier conversation, she wasn't expecting some form of strength out of her.

Even though Kikyo's legs were in slight pain, that didn't stop her from using them or limiting her options when it comes to demonstrating swiftness. Kikyo quickly crawled over to the same leg that she attempted to hold onto the an ankle lock in (assuming if she were to still be on the ground by the time Kikyo reached her leg) and this time try to trap the same leg in between her legs and arms. If successful, Kikyo's legs would cross over Satsumi's left leg as she used her arms to secure them onto her foot. She would then roll her body over with the leg as an effort to twist her leg and hold it in the same position for a few seconds. While it didn't have much pressure added in unlike the ankle lock due to using her whole body to try and weigh Satsumi down, it was another way to try and beat the other girl into submission.


[WC: 514 | TWC: 6,532]