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Post by Tsubasa Masumi on Jun 26, 2013 23:27:22 GMT -5
| [atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,10,true][atrb=style, width:450px; background-image:url(http://i1293.photobucket.com/albums/b586/ashuriiakemi/Textures/rainbowwatergrunge7_zpsca87c3d0.jpg) ; border: dashed 1px #000000,bTable] what does a heart encased in rust see | The predawn hours were the most peaceful by far. When the world was covered in a blanket of stars and moonlight gave everything an ethereal glow, the village of Iwagakure was a very different place. There was no hustle, no bustle, no screams and shouts of children playing, no murmur of adults as they engaged in business. No chaos, only an isolated serenity that settled over the body like a cloak, enshrouding one in an aura of solitude.
It was the only time that one could expect to be left alone, so it was the only time Masumi went outside simply to enjoy the outdoors. She could engage in peaceful meditation or observe the impressive scenery or just sit there and look at the sky, identifying constellations until the sun peeked over the horizon. It was better than staring at the pure white ceiling of her bedroom, trying futilely to sleep. The night air was energizing, refreshing, simply better than anything else.
But like all good things, the night came to an end, and it did so far too quickly for the black-haired chunin's liking. As the sun rose, Masumi picked up the book she had brought out with her and began to thumb through the pages. It was a thick old tome describing the intricacies of jikuukan ninjutsu, a subject she had been delving into recently. The sealing arts were the perfect compliments to the skill set that she wanted to develop, and thus she devoured any books and scrolls containing information about the subject with a passion she rarely showed for anything.
This book in particular was focused on summoning contracts; they were a rather basic form of jikuukan ninjutsu, being that just about any shinobi had the capability, if not the opportunity, to sign a contract and enter into a bond with the animals connected to the contract. Masumi had never thought much about summoning contracts, despite being in possession of one (though she hadn't yet signed it), until she had read about them from the perspective of a master.
Perhaps, once this outdoor study session was over, she would sign the Kitsune no Shizuka Tosha contract and discover the wonders of summons for herself. in a still and
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Post by Tsubasa Masumi on Jun 29, 2013 22:18:13 GMT -5
| [atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,10,true][atrb=style, width:450px; background-image:url(http://i1293.photobucket.com/albums/b586/ashuriiakemi/Textures/rainbowwatergrunge7_zpsca87c3d0.jpg) ; border: dashed 1px #000000,bTable] what does a heart encased in rust see | Masumi was, indeed, so absorbed in the book that very little could have bothered her. Someone could have practically collapsed on top of her and she would have taken very little, if any, notice - not only due to the fact that she had very little regard for others, but because the book was so utterly fascinating. After the general chapter on summoning, it listed everything this author knew about different contracts; he had interviewed sages and other contract holders that had been willing to give out some general information. She was surprised to see the volume of that information; it wasn't the thickest chapter in the book by any means, but shinobi were notoriously reticent about their secrets and knowledge and she couldn't imagine very many being so generous with that information.
She did take notice when a woman, older than herself but still fairly young, called out to her. An ant hill? Wonderful. Masumi stood swiftly, brushing the tiny six-legged creatures off of her. She did not panic and flail wildly about as some would, merely went about the task of ridding herself of the insects with a calm demeanor. After making sure that no more of them were crawling on her, she turned and dipped her head to the woman. "Thank you for informing me of that. I was unaware that my location was... already occupied."
The chunin studied the young woman, noting for the first time that she was not a shinobi; the woman had long hair that wasn't quite as dark as Masumi's own pitch black, amber eyes, and a frame that seemed too skinny to be healthy. She didn't seem to be off-putting - quite the opposite, in fact, as she already seemed friendly and jovial. Just the kind of person the chunin wasn't fond of. However, she was not in the practice of being needlessly rude, even to plebeians, and the woman had just prevented the certainty of a raging ant problem later on, so it wouldn't wound her to be polite. "It is nice to meet you. I am Maeda Masumi; what is your name?" in a still and
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Post by Tsubasa Masumi on Jun 30, 2013 16:09:51 GMT -5
| [atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,10,true][atrb=style, width:450px; background-image:url(http://i1293.photobucket.com/albums/b586/ashuriiakemi/Textures/rainbowwatergrunge7_zpsca87c3d0.jpg) ; border: dashed 1px #000000,bTable] what does a heart encased in rust see | "I was indeed unaware. I've been sitting out here since a few hours before sunrise, and in the darkness I didn't see the anthill. I had no idea it existed... if not for you, I would have had an unpleasant surprise when I finished reading." Masumi's lips curled into a fake half-smile. A measure of her gratitude was genuine, but her cordiality, well... a cordial act was not difficult to put on; maintaining it, on the other hand, might end up proving difficult. It depended on whether this civilian was as ignorant and loathsome as the rest of them - and to her, the odds of that were sky high.
Inkokoro Mimiko. She would store the name in her mind, remember it for possible encounters in the future. It was a bit early to make a judgment, but Masumi already thought she was a bit different than most plebeians - in a positive way, a compliment that she would never speak aloud nor admit to, and that very few people ever received. Perhaps this Mimiko warranted watching - ah, but that was a subject to ponder when she was not having a conversation.
The chunin was surprised again when the woman asked about the dusty old book; most of the time, not even other shinobi were interested in her reading material. "It's a book written by a master of jikuukan ninjutsu - the art of space-time techniques. His area of specialty was summoning, which is something I want to study to compliment the skills I already have." she explained, figuring that most of it would probably fly right over Mimiko's head anyway. "I suppose you could say there are two branches of summoning - animal contracts and general summoning from scrolls. If you have a scroll with enough available space, you could seal just about anything in it and then summon the contents during a battle - like, say I used a katana but didn't want to carry it on my back. I could put it in a scroll and summon it when I needed it, which adds the advantage of surprise as well as conserving space."
Masumi realized she was beginning to ramble, and quickly cut herself off. "I apologize... I do not mean to bore you with my studies." in a still and
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Post by Tsubasa Masumi on Jul 1, 2013 20:14:59 GMT -5
| [atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,10,true][atrb=style, width:450px; background-image:url(http://i1293.photobucket.com/albums/b586/ashuriiakemi/Textures/rainbowwatergrunge7_zpsca87c3d0.jpg) ; border: dashed 1px #000000,bTable] what does a heart encased in rust see | Masumi was no stranger to odd looks, especially about her study habits; most shinobi gave up book learning, for the most part, after they had graduated the academy, preferring hands-on instruction from their sensei or friends. She was not one of those people; her jonin-sensei had hardly been useful at all. He had taught her just a few things; she had gained most of her abilities and learned most of her techniques on her own. She had no need for others to assist her - nor did she want them to. Books were more than adequate, especially considering that these nonfiction texts were factual and largely not opinion-based.
"Your late husband?" Masumi repeated. "I am sorry for your loss. Was he someone I would have known?" Depending on who he was, it was quite possible that she had not only heard of him, but might have run into him on missions or such. If that was so, it was likely that she would have formed an opinion of him, and her opinions were generally unfavorable, be the person a saint or a devil. She didn't really like anyone. Even this conversation, which was much less formal and more cordial than most she participated in, was going so well because of her ability to fake positive emotion. She really could not care less about the woman's dead husband or who he was.
"What animal did he summon? The contract I have in my possession is for foxes. Gorgeous creatures, they are. I have not met any of them yet, as I haven't signed it, but I know there are five highly distinct clans that operate within their own society on a level of complexity that is almost humanlike." The more she talked about the fox contract, the more she itched to return to her home and sign it immediately. She would be able to call up impressively powerful foxes already, she was sure - ones that would be able to inform her thoroughly about the contract and its inhabitants.
"I do aim to become a master of space-time techniques, as well as many other types. But while the concept of summoning is rather simplistic, the actual mechanics are more difficult to grasp and use. It's something that will take quite a lot of practice. I suppose it's a good thing that I have immense amounts of patience and of time." Masumi almost faked a chuckle, but decided it was unnecessary. She was also beginning to think she had spoken enough about herself. "What do you do with your life?" in a still and
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Post by Tsubasa Masumi on Jul 3, 2013 19:10:07 GMT -5
| [atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,10,true][atrb=style, width:450px; background-image:url(http://i1293.photobucket.com/albums/b586/ashuriiakemi/Textures/rainbowwatergrunge7_zpsca87c3d0.jpg) ; border: dashed 1px #000000,bTable] what does a heart encased in rust see | Masumi was puzzled about the woman's unease with the subject. Surely, being involved with a shinobi, one would come to terms with the possibility of their death. And, if her own experience with this situation - that being how her father spoke of the deceased mother that the chunin had never known - was the rule, not the exception, that made it all the stranger. "...I see. I apologize. I do not wish to cause you emotional pain by forcing you to think of him." she murmured, frowning. She really did not understand it. Death was merely the end of life. What was so upsetting about that? She would not feel much of anything if her father died - but she supposed that was different than a lover or spouse dying - not something she would know, or ever wanted to know. "Let us move to a lighter topic of discussion."
She had only inquired about the woman's life to be polite, and to divert the conversation away from herself before she spoke too much. As such, the chunin was not all that interested in Mimiko's answer. "A seamstress, hmm? Sewing is a useful skill to have." At least it was something practical. It was cheaper to sew rips and tears in her clothing than to purchase new items - or to get them professionally repaired by a seamstress - and so she had learned the basics of sewing and never went anywhere without a needle and a bit of thread tucked away somewhere.
"...I would rather not have holes in my clothing at all, but that kind of thing is unavoidable in... my line of work. I'm lucky to have anything left to repair sometimes." A hint of real amusement leaked into her smile. "A vacation? To where?" Masumi had often thought about traveling, but it was so expensive, and she thought that any venture that didn't make money was a waste of time. So, a vacation.. completely impossible for her. She would see enough of the world on missions. in a still and
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Post by Tsubasa Masumi on Jul 6, 2013 15:15:36 GMT -5
| [atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,10,true][atrb=style, width:450px; background-image:url(http://i1293.photobucket.com/albums/b586/ashuriiakemi/Textures/rainbowwatergrunge7_zpsca87c3d0.jpg) ; border: dashed 1px #000000,bTable] what does a heart encased in rust see | If the woman had been a shinobi as well, Masumi would have likely pressed the subject until Mimiko either talked about him or got pissed enough to leave, but civilians were a different breed and, as such, could not be expected to operate the same way shinobi did. That was something she could understand on a basic level; she did not truly understand why the two groups were so entirely different, because she lacked understanding of people in general, the one subject Masumi had never even begun to study. Nor was it one that she intended to delve into at any time in the near future. There were some that found people fascinating, and devoted their entire lives to studying how they functioned; the chunin could never imagine wasting her life in such a way.
"Most are not as prudent as I. And even if they tried, they're more likely to stitch their shirt to their forehead than actually fix a rip or tear." She was not exaggerating; it was truly astounding how many stupid people the world had failed to cull. "It is always possible that one such as I would have to make an abrupt career change... not a fortunate situation, but a possible one." Masumi went no deeper into it than that, figuring that the woman would become emotional if she did so.
"Iwa is certainly not the most traditionally beautiful village, but it has its charms." Masumi was rather partial to all the rocks, really; she had had the opportunity to see different countries through missions, and none of them had struck her as being as wonderful as Iwa. "It's a bit of a ways away, but Tea Country is nice this time of year. There's also the island nation of Sakura Country - it practically drowns in cherry blossoms every year. Both are nice for some time off, if you don't mind a lot of travel."
Masumi frowned, checking the position of the sun in the sky. She had stayed out later than she had wanted to, and thus would be late to pick up her mission - late by her own standards, not anyone else's. "Pardon me, but I have things to do. I've stayed out too long as it is." Dipping her head, she turned to walk away. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Mimiko-san." in a still and
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[M:3290:120750:]
