I'm not using that name. [Plot]

[Ren Natsumi]

[atrb=border,0,true] maybe life is nothing more than a curse inside the blessed Today was much like any other day. Natsu sat at the Hancho's desk, her gold-flecked eyes deliberately following the movements of the pen in her hand, scratching out expertly forged signatures for her boss. Although it was expected of the Hancho to stay in all day and fill out forms, address grievances, and other such exciting activities of that nature; he simply didn't have the time for it. As Takigakure didn't have nearly the manpower of the larger villages, it forced the Hancho to take a much more active role in the village's affairs. Which left mountains of paperwork that someone else had to take care of...that being her. Even though her specialty was the assassination of high value targets, Natsu rather preferred this desk job to being out in the field. It was quiet...peaceful, and she was able to serve a vital function for the village. Assassins were a dime a dozen in this day and age, but a good secretary? Those were priceless. The woman pulled yet another sheet of paper from the pile sitting beside her, quickly glancing over the specifics...some farmer's crops were being destroyed by pests? Mission authorized, signature forged, and form placed in the second, equally large pile of 'completed' requests. Beside her workstation there rest a kunai. Everyone who worked in the Hancho's mansion had been given explicit orders to leave Natsu in peace, and failure to respect that order would result in getting that particular kunai to the forehead. Still, she was engrossed in her work, currently trying to judge how much she could get done before the shift ended... i will fight this bloody war with every strangled breath

271/2500 words, made by akemi of btn

[Fukui Noriaki]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=valign,top][atrb=style,width: 450px; padding: 10px; background-color: #303030; -moz-border-radius: 1em; -webkit-border-radius: 1em;] TONIGHT I SHALL BE HERE, TICK TOCK, TICK TOCK. TONIGHT, I SHALL BE HERE. Boring, uneventful, mundane, just a few of the words that could be used to describe this day. Granted, there was a ton of work to be done for anyone willing to roll up there sleeves and get down to the nitty gritty, but today Noriaki was not one of them. No, he had decided to take this day for something much more... interesting. Though boring, the sun shone bright and the temperature was just right for a bit of exercise. What kind of exercise, you ask? Great question! You see, there was running, or lifting weights, or perhaps training in the ninja arts, and on a normal day the man would have surely chosen one of those options. However, today was not a normal day. The stride he walked with had purpose behind it, though he was the only one who knew what that purpose was. His destination was the Hanchou's building, or more specifically, a certain person inside that building. No, the Jounin didn't have a meeting with the head man in charge today though one of those would surely come soon enough. The person Noriaki was interested in seeing was his assistant. Ohoho, hots for the secretary, eh? You sly dog you. No... well, maybe a little, but that wasn't the foundation for this visit. Through his life the man had visited that building many times, being one of the village's prized experiments came with that territory, but in between standing around a room having his abilities explained to the higher ups he had always taken note of that woman. Ren, that was her name and she was always buried under mountains of paperwork that made it almost seem as if the Hanchou never did anything at all. Noriaki knew that wasn't the case, but also was aware that all work and no play made Johnny a dumb dumb. So today she would be treated to a relaxing adventure of sorts, granted it depended on her actually agreeing to go but the man had a way with words so there was little worry there. Swinging open the door to the main building the man walked in with a cheeky grin on his face, over confidence at its finest. It didn't take him long to spot the woman and thus began the chase. "You're buried under more and more paper work every time I see you, Ren-san. Must be boring sitting here all day, no?" Noriaki spoke as he thumbed through a few of the papers that were on top of one of the stacks. "How about an adventure?" WORDS, 442/2,500 TAGS, Ren NOTES, HERE

by rimy ♥ of btn!

[Ren Natsumi]

[atrb=border,0,true] maybe life is nothing more than a curse inside the blessed During particularly slow days, Natsu would play games to keep herself occupied. Nothing that could be construed as slacking off, of course. Sometimes she would write using a particularly stylized form of kanji, other times she would try a new style filled with harsh and brutal strokes of the pen, making the writing seem almost angry and oppressive. There were some that joked her Jounin-level talent was penmanship, but those people tended to not live very long... It was while she was busy filling out the necessary entries for updates to the village's registry when the sound of a doorknob turning pricked her ears up. In a single movement, she snatched up the kunai sitting beside the paper and flung it in the direction of the door, bringing her arm down in one motion to go back to writing without missing a beat. As it was unlikely to kill the intruder, sadly, she would probably be forced to listen to their spiel. Her eyes never left the form in front of her, but she didn't have to look to know where Fukui was currently standing "Don't call me that. And don't touch that." Most people in the village would describe Natsu as a bit of a wet blanket- and they wouldn't be far off in that assessment. Most of her free time was spent either sleeping or preparing for more work. Still, she happened to know this man, if only as an acquaintance. At the very least, she knew that some people had filed complaints about his work ethic. Those people being her and herself "Don't you have Genin to train?" i will fight this bloody war with every strangled breath

542/2500 words, made by akemi of btn

[Fukui Noriaki]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=valign,top][atrb=style,width: 450px; padding: 10px; background-color: #303030; -moz-border-radius: 1em; -webkit-border-radius: 1em;] TONIGHT I SHALL BE HERE, TICK TOCK, TICK TOCK. TONIGHT, I SHALL BE HERE. A veritable stick in the mud this woman was, and part of the reason Noriaki had decided that she needed to loosen up via adventure. His hand left the stack of papers as his mouth twisted into some sort of odd frown, this was going to be much more difficult than firstly imagined. Then again, this was just as hard as the man figured it was. Ren was a stickler when it came to... everything. She didn't seem to have fun, or rather, her only fun came from doing work. Weird. No matter, this woman was going to enjoy the world for what it had to offer today. "Gave 'em a day off. Can't run them ragged, ya know?" The Jounin replied. He gave a slight thought to his team, all female and just as weird as himself... perhaps that last part wasn't exactly true, but in due time they would end up that way. The decent lighting in the office gleamed off of Noriaki's red, oddly shaped glasses as he glanced around the office. It was quaint, nothing flashy, probably just how Ren liked it. "You didn't answer my question, by the way. Want to go on an adventure?" Perhaps a second go-round would do the trick. He figured that the woman had heard him, but chosen to ignore it. Or maybe she hadn't considering how intently the woman was looking at the various papers. All the Jounin needed was the slightest hint of interest from Ren and all would be virtually set in stone. Just as soon as the seed had been planted Noriaki would cultivate the idea into a blossoming plan that would finally allow the boring woman to have some fun in her run of the mill life. WORDS, 745/2,500 TAGS, Ren NOTES, HERE

by rimy ♥ of btn!

[Ren Natsumi]

[atrb=border,0,true] maybe life is nothing more than a curse inside the blessed Her breathing slowed, deepening slightly with each intake of air. She was annoyed, that her work was being disturbed by this... this slacker! His motives were the true mystery here- what did he expect to do by letting the Genin have free reign? On the other hand, she wasn't particularly good with children...there's a reason she wasn't a squad leader herself. "We aren't like the other villages. We're small. Vulnerable. That means we each have to do the job of two...three...five people in order to keep up. There isn't enough time to sit back and relax. Too much left that has to get finished." She doubted that he would agree with her staggered ramblings, but that didn't change the truth behind her words. She also didn't bother giving him a straight answer, thinking that the small speech would have been sufficient for him to understand her position on the matter. Her eyes still had yet to leave the paper sitting in front of her, focusing intently on it as she finished filling out the last of the forms. One down, three-thousand seven hundred and twenty-six to go... i will fight this bloody war with every strangled breath

740/2500 words, made by akemi of btn

[Fukui Noriaki]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=valign,top][atrb=style,width: 450px; padding: 10px; background-color: #303030; -moz-border-radius: 1em; -webkit-border-radius: 1em;] TONIGHT I SHALL BE HERE, TICK TOCK, TICK TOCK. TONIGHT, I SHALL BE HERE. Another round of excuses and yet again the woman did not answer the question, well not entirely. She hadn't said no outright which meant that somewhere deep down Ren was at least thinking it over. Noriaki had not given his team the day off out of laziness or some similar trait, but out of necessity. They were young, still green behind the ears and had yet to develop the necessary stamina to keep up the rigorous life that shinobi life demanded. The three would be useless training now, or worse yet going on a mission as they'd probably pass out due to fatigue before completing anything of note. That was why the Jounin had given his team the day off, to save them. "I'm aware of the state of our village compared to the others, but what good are a group of fresh Genin that are too worn out to keep their eyes open? I didn't give them time off for my sake." His voice had taken on a slightly more serious tone but the man wasn't angry. He didn't like having his actions challenged, especially by people who were so stuck in their ways which happened to be a rather big pet peeve of his. That had been yet another reason Noriaki had made the trek here, he wanted to break Ren out of that boring, no-fun attitude she had developed. Granted, cracking through that much mud was not going to be a one time endeavor, no way in hell. However, if he could at least let the woman have fun once then that would be enough... for now. "The same applies for those that bury themselves in paper work, even those that do it by choice." The Jounin's voice had returned to its usual light hearted tone but it was clear who the target of his words was. "A couple hours out of the office won't kill you, and I'm sure the village will be just fine without you sitting at this desk for a short time." Persuasion wasn't a trait that people were born with, it was something that someone had to grow and mold of their lifetime, and in his Noriaki had become quite decent at getting his way. Granted, he had never had a test quite like Ren which left his near perfect record in jeopardy. WORDS, 1,147/2,500 TAGS, Ren NOTES, HERE

by rimy ♥ of btn!

[Ren Natsumi]

[atrb=border,0,true] maybe life is nothing more than a curse inside the blessed Why was it so hard to just be left alone? Even though Natsumi was much more open than she had been following the days after her brother's demise, that didn't exactly mean she welcomed contact with others. Her grip on the pen tightened, causing the tool to be audibly strained from the pressure. "If they're too weak to be of use, then they should be made stronger. The Hancho is already making preparations for them..." Her voice traded off, wondering if that was a subject she should keep quiet on. She wasn't sure how much Fukui knew about the village's... inner workings. " ...Forget it. It's not important. But, this work is. So please leave me be." She placed the completed form on the stack to her left and pulled the next sheet from the stack on the right, scratching out yet another few notes. The man in front of her kept speaking to his captive audience, but she only caught every other word, still trying to focus on the paperwork, "Everyone has a part to play. This is mine. And I intend on playing it well." A deep sigh left the woman as her pen finally stopped moving, looking up at Fukui for the first time since he'd entered, "You have about five seconds before I start considering ways for me to dispose of your body." i will fight this bloody war with every strangled breath

966/2500 words, made by akemi of btn

[Fukui Noriaki]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=valign,top][atrb=style,width: 450px; padding: 10px; background-color: #303030; -moz-border-radius: 1em; -webkit-border-radius: 1em;] TONIGHT I SHALL BE HERE, TICK TOCK, TICK TOCK. TONIGHT, I SHALL BE HERE. A brow raised in slight confusion at the woman's words as she spoke of plans the Hanchou had for his team. Noriaki hadn't been informed of any kind of maneuvers that were to take place, at least not that he knew of. Maybe someone had told him and it just slipped his mind, either way that would be looked into after today's festivities. Again with the boring talk, though hearing that she had let some information slip caused the man to chuckle on the inside. Aside from that it was the usual babble about duty and performing it well. If there was one thing this woman could be labeled as it was as a robot, having been programmed to do one task over and over again and not give any thought to straying from the norm. Noriaki disliked those types of people, especially when they were voluntarily missing out on the amazing opportunities life could afford them. Natsumi's last words, and her glare, were quite the message sender. It seemed that she had no intention of leaving that desk today, or at least until all her work was finished which very well could have been never. "Alright alright, no need for the demon eyes." The Jounin replied as he turned around and began walking away from the desk, all the while the slits on his palms opening up and beginning to gather air. To his credit, Noriaki had attempted the casual, speaking approach but it seemed that more drastic matters would need to be taken. It only took a few moments to acquire the necessary amount for what the man was about to pull of. "There goes the easy route." He muttered before placing his arms behind him and aiming them at the desk. In one fluid motion he released the air that had been built up, a tiny amount but as it had been pressurized still had a bit of a kick. Unless the woman had some kind of technique to block it the air would send both stacks of paper flying every which way. That was sure to get her attention. With a maniacal laugh Noriaki raced out of the door to escape what he assumed would be the wrath of Natsumi. Now it was up to his legs to get him to the destination before the woman was able to catch up and do... whatever pencil pushers did when someone messed with their work. WORDS, 1,558/2,500 TAGS, HERE NOTES, HERE

by rimy ♥ of btn!

Tech Used: Air Vent [Tiny]
Chakra: 98%

[Ren Natsumi]

[atrb=border,0,true] maybe life is nothing more than a curse inside the blessed Natsu huffed loudly when it finally seemed like the man had given up. Finally. Now maybe she could actually get something done... and it seemed like he hadn't put too much stock in what she'd said about his Genin, which was also good- if Fukui wasn't already aware of what was going on, then there was no reason for him to ever know. When the man finally started to turn away, she moved the paper in front of her to the side and took yet another form off the pile, glancing over it quickly before starting to fill it out. As it was, she was completely unprepared for what happened next. A strong gust of wind blew into the enclosed space, causing the stacks of paper to explode, sending sheets flying all across the room. Meticulously separated piles of forms, registries, and other assorted things were spread out and mixed around, completely undoing hours of work. The wind also served to blow Natsu's hair back, causing numerous split ends to stick out once the gust had died down, giving her a bewildered look even though her expression remained completely neutral. As soon as Fukui turned the corner out of her office, she suddenly appeared where he'd been standing a split second earlier, almost as if she'd teleported halfway across the room, and slammed her arm into the wall hard enough to send a loud bang echoing through the hallway. A thin field of energy surrounding the woman, sparks dancing across her skin as her expression was twisted into one of rage. If looks could kill, Fukui would find himself with a fist-sized hole in the back of his head. Natsu quickly dropped into a ready stance before lunging forward, speeding after the Jounin in hot pursuit. So much chakra was surging through her body that her footsteps were leaving light scorch marks on the carpet, static visible between the bottom of her shoes and the floor when her feet were lifted, "FUKUI NORIAKIIIII!" Jutsu Used - Tenrai no Shunshin l Thunder Shunshin Chakra Remaining - 82% i will fight this bloody war with every strangled breath

1299/2500 words, made by akemi of btn

[Fukui Noriaki]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=valign,top][atrb=style,width: 450px; padding: 10px; background-color: #303030; -moz-border-radius: 1em; -webkit-border-radius: 1em;] TONIGHT I SHALL BE HERE, TICK TOCK, TICK TOCK. TONIGHT, I SHALL BE HERE. Hearing his name screamed like that gave the man all the confirmation he needed that the plan had worked. Granted, taking into account Natsumi's speed had been a slight oversight so simply running straight ahead was going to be out of the question; a quick glance back to see that the woman was indeed chasing after him assured that assumption. As much as the Jounin wanted to say that she looked upset... he couldn't. That same stoic, statue like demeanor was plastered to her face but the wily hair seemed good enough. "I wouldn't have had to do that if you had just come along the first time I asked!" The man joked with that same sadistic laugh from before. Noriaki's body blurred forward as he continued to race towards the intended destination. Normally it was but a small journey but being chased by a woman who probably wanted little more than to rip the flesh off his bones made time seem to slow down. The woman was fast so even using a certain technique would not allow him to stay ahead of her for long, though hopefully that wouldn't matter in a few minutes. A turn down a street then more running followed by another turn, the man was clearly heading to the outskirts of the village and towards the more... nature-esque scene. In the distance was one of the various waterfalls that had become the village's namesake, but this one was special, more beautiful than the rest. Noriaki could only hope that he would be able to reach such a sight before the beast charging behind him was able to catch up. WORDS, 1,839/2,500 TAGS, HERE NOTES, HERE

by rimy ♥ of btn!

Tech(s) Used: Shunshin no Jutsu
Chakra: 78%

[Ren Natsumi]

[atrb=border,0,true] maybe life is nothing more than a curse inside the blessed Natsu's line of sight narrowed to that tunnel vision that she was oh so familiar with, focusing only on Fukui. She was faster than him, and so she steadily gained on the fleeing target. But not quickly enough for her tastes. It was time to kick this chase into overdrive. They had just reached the outskirts of the village when Natsu suddenly cut off the pursuit and started snapping off handseals. When the sequence was completed, she grabbed her right wrist with her left hand and pointed it towards the ground, gathering chakra in her right hand. A thin circle of chakra formed around her, swirling around as the chakra was condensed further and further, to the point where her hand was engulfed in a pulsing blue energy that would be visible if Fukui chose to look over his shoulder. The blue turned darker when even more chakra was added, a loud crackling filling the air as she added Raiton chakra to the mix. Natsu looked up again, glaring at the back of her target's head as she shifted her body lower, almost in a crouching position while pushing the tips of her toes against the ground... and kicked off. Natsu began to lunge forward... and almost immediately vanished from sight. When utilizing the Chidori, her speed was boosted to a point where even some Kages couldn't follow her movements. She was essentially turned into a living lightning bolt. Unless Fukui made a serious effort to evade the attack, she would spin to the side just before reaching the Jounin, attempting to slam her shoulder into his back, using the speed built up from the Chidori to send him flying and disable the man as opposed to simply ramming the Chidori through his chest to end him for good. Jutsu Used - Chidori l One Thousand Birds Karada Kensei | Body Check Chakra Remaining - 49% i will fight this bloody war with every strangled breath

1600/2500 words, made by akemi of btn

[Fukui Noriaki]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=valign,top][atrb=style,width: 450px; padding: 10px; background-color: #303030; -moz-border-radius: 1em; -webkit-border-radius: 1em;] TONIGHT I SHALL BE HERE, TICK TOCK, TICK TOCK. TONIGHT, I SHALL BE HERE. Remember that one movie with the hallway that just kept going on and on no matter how many steps you took forward? Well, that was the feeling Noriaki had as he continued running from what he could best describe as the internally enraged woman. Her outside features didn't show it, perhaps her speed, but everything else was calm... creepy, even. He didn't take the time to look over his shoulder and solely focused on continuing to run, it was no shock that Natsumi was faster so turning his head would only confirm what the two of them already knew. Oddly enough, the woman had yet to catch up to him which was odd, though what came next made things much more weird. The sound of birds piercing his ear drums caught the man off guard, had that woman summoned something to try and slow him down? This time he the Jounin did look back and his eyes widened in shock; Natsumi was about to use that technique. Surely blowing over a few papers hadn't called for something so drastic, right? Well, regardless of if the woman was joking around or not Noriaki didn't want to be on the receiving end of such a jutsu and began swerving while he ran which slowed him down but would make for a harder target for a jutsu that had a notoriously low accuracy rate to begin with. Not that it did any good, as between steps he could feel the force of something slamming into his back which sent the man tumbling ahead quite violently. He rolled for a good twenty feet before coming to a halt and lay there for a few moments before painfully rolling onto his back. So Natsumi had no intention of hitting him with that technique after all, but instead used the tremendous speed boost to close the gap in what seemed an instant. Noriaki knew that sitting up at the moment would be near impossible, and that he would be left with a bitchin' bruise that would not subside for quite some time; luckily his flak jacket would cover it up so the man wouldn't have to try and come up with an excuse should anyone see it. The sound of the waterfall crashing against the rocks helped to ease the pain slightly, though each labored breath was a definite reminder of what had just taken place, but all the while the Jounin had a grin on his face. He had succeeded in getting that woman out of her office and had only missed the waterfall by a few steps. Noriaki wondered what would happen next, would she chastise him? Beat him half to death? Actually use Chidori for its intended purpose? Only time would tell. WORDS, 2,303/2,500 TAGS, HERE NOTES, HERE

by rimy ♥ of btn!

Chakra: 78%

[Ren Natsumi]

[atrb=border,0,true] maybe life is nothing more than a curse inside the blessed Contact! Natsu's body shuddered from the force of the impact, suddenly bring brought to a screeching halt from a speed that no human was ever meant to reach. Still, the attack had had the intended purpose of disabling the target. She almost wanted to rub her certainly bruised shoulder, but the fact that the Chidori was still active made touching herself a very bad idea at the moment. The woman slowly advanced on her prey, holding her right hand across her chest horizontally, electric cackling nosily as she flexed and unflexed her hand. Holding the chirping blade of chakra so close to herself was dangerous, but she didn't seem to particularly care about that at the moment. The tendrils of lightning arching off of the Chidori stung at her unprotected flesh, but she ignored the pain for now- Fukui's fallen form had her complete attention. When she was finally in a position to stand over the man, she would attempt to grab his collar with her left hand while drawing her right hand back, ready to strike... and thrust her hand forward with lethal force, aiming directly towards Fukui's face. But just before she reached him, Natsu pulled back on her arm, only lightly pressing her hand against his forehead. The shock would still hurt like hell of course, but her intent was to temporarily paralyze the man with the Chidori- after all, killing him would get her chewed out by the Hancho. If Fukui was successfully subdued by the jutsu, she would solidify her victory- and her dominance by dragging him to the water's edge, still holding him by the collar. When she got there, she would grab his shoulder and thrust his face underneath the water, watching with a dull, almost bored expression while slowly drowning the man that had given her so much grief in such a short amount of time. i will fight this bloody war with every strangled breath

1910/2500 words, made by akemi of btn

[Fukui Noriaki]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=valign,top][atrb=style,width: 450px; padding: 10px; background-color: #303030; -moz-border-radius: 1em; -webkit-border-radius: 1em;] TONIGHT I SHALL BE HERE, TICK TOCK, TICK TOCK. TONIGHT, I SHALL BE HERE. The sound of waterfall was nice, relaxing even, and certainly helped block his mind of the throbbing pain in his back. However, that once tranquil sound would soon be overtaken by what could be best described as a thousand birds all chirping at the same time, Natsumi had arrived. Try as he might there was no point in moving, even lifting a finger was a pain in the ass. The grin never left his face even when the woman had hovered over him, and a soft gurgle left his lips as she picked him up by the collar. It was painful, to say the least, but at least she was helping the man regain his footing. Welp, looked like that wasn't the case, after all as she placed her electrically charged hand onto his forehead, the stinging sensation numbing his body from head to toe. Damn this woman was mad, yet her face still showed no signs of it. His eye twitched, but not out of fear, it was involuntarily considering the number of volts coursing through his body. Noriaki could only watch as his body was dragged towards the pool that the waterfall had created, perhaps Natsumi had finally gotten the hint after all. Wrong again, and in a matter of moments the man found his head submerged underneath the water, a quick breath being taken just before. Normally it wouldn't have been a problem, but with the pain from before added to the shock he had only managed a small gasp of air; it wouldn't last long. Was he going to die here, at the hands of the office secretary?Damn, at least it was interesting and he'd have quite the tale for the afterlife. A group of bubbles escaped Noriaki's lips as he was no longer able to hold his breath, the end had come much sooner than expected. WORDS, 2,615/2,500 TAGS, HERE NOTES, HERE

by rimy ♥ of btn!

[Ren Natsumi]

[atrb=border,0,true] maybe life is nothing more than a curse inside the blessed Natsu waited in silence as she counted the seconds it would take for the man to drown. She watched until the bubbles stopped flowing from his nose and mouth before pulling him back out of the water and dropping him on the bank before standing up, staring down at him with a harsh look, "You have three seconds to explain yourself, or this time I won't pull you back out." Of course, she wouldn't really put him back in the water. In fact, she'd already gone much too far- if anyone were to find out about it, she would be in a great deal of trouble. Sure, she could kill Fukui and stash the body, but it's not as though people wouldn't miss him... unlike her, anyway. With her brother dead, she had noone left... The woman quickly shook the thought out of her mind and looked back towards the water, not needing to look at Fukui while he spoke. After all, what could he do in this position? Probably not a whole heck of a lot, that's for sure. i will fight this bloody war with every strangled breath

2100/2500 words, made by akemi of btn