A Leaf in the Breeze (private/Kagura)

Mei Yoruhana made her way towards the training grounds with a bright smile on her face. The Genin had finally scraped together enough Ryo for the wooden training staff she had strapped across her back. The feeling of it trapping part of the fabric of her red cloak was odd, but the raven-haired ninja would get used to that soon enough. The surprised look of the shopkeeper’s face at the weapons shop would be satisfying when Mei presented him with a stack of bills that had clearly been crumpled but smoothed out to the best of her ability.

Forgoing the usual expenses she blew her paychecks on had been challenging, but seeing a scythe while in the shop had been a moment of falling in love. It consumed her thoughts so much so that she’d trained more diligently and taken more missions than usual, and done it with good cheer. While she wasn't at the point of affording a scythe, she could afford the “bo staff”. In the meantime, she would learn how to use it so that she could wield her scythe once she bought that, too.

It wasn’t even a true bo staff, but a dowel purchased from a hardware store. The long, thin stick of wood was fairly sturdy but nothing compared to the ones made for combat. Even so, she felt a sense of pride in her first training weapon.

“What should I name you?” Mei asked the weapon aloud as she wandered directly into a training facility that looked new without checking for any signs of it being occupied.

In fact, her head was still in the clouds as she waltzed right into an area that was already in use.

“Moonlight? It’s an elegant name, but maybe a little too flashy. Staff of darkness? That sounds like a goofy teenager named it…” Mei continued to mumble, reaching up to twirl a strand of bob-length hair around her finger.

[1]

Kagura was in the middle of a Kata, something that she was normally able to focus so much on that she could tune out the rest of the world when she heard someone approaching. She continued to go through her Kata until she heard the voice of the person, and slowly she opened her eyes. Standing at 5’ 8” and wearing her normal training outfit she wondered if only for a moment if a young Genin had wandered onto the training area she was using, but then noting the woman’s curvaceous shape, she quickly rectified that thought. This young woman was roughly her own age and seemed to be trying to figure out a name for her staff while walking directly towards her, forcing her to pause her Kata, or she would wind up jabbing her directly with the Bokken she was wielding. The bronze-colored eyes took in the staff for a moment, and then she spoke up.

“How about ‘Knee-Breaker’ for a name?” she would declare, the smaller woman directly in front of her and within arm’s reach, still seemingly oblivious. Not knowing the smaller woman’s rank, nor recognizing her, mattered all the much because she respected most everyone the same, and gave a small bow of her head. “Good morning Ma’am. I am Kagura Ezume.” Introductions were important to, and as she raised her own head and made eye contact again, she gave a small smile, trying to be friendly. It was curious about what her intent was here; training with someone was usually far better than training alone, so perhaps she would be interested in joining Kagura to see where they both stood.

[1]

Mei twitched, startled out of her daze by Kagura’s voice. She blinked rapidly before taking in the sight of the brunette girl wielding a bokken. The dark-haired ninja stared awkwardly for a few moments while she tried to process feeling embarrassed at having walked in on someone’s training and excited that she had a good suggestion for naming her training weapon.

“Ah! Thank you! Knee breaker is great, though I think this one might break on someone’s knees,” Mei blurted out. “I’m Mei Yoruhana, it’s nice to meet you Kagura. You don’t have to be so formal with little old me, I’m nobody. Just your friendly neighborhood Genin.”

Mei grinned sheepishly before taking note of Kagura’s own practice weapon. “You’re training with weapons as well? I just got this today,” the dark-haired Genin gestured at the sword strapped to her back with a thumb jabbed in its direction, “that’s neat. Want to spar? I’m not very good yet, so please be patient with me.”

She pulled the practice staff from her back and used it to lean on casually. While Mei was planning to train on her own, she wouldn’t turn down an opportunity to spar someone else. It made life less dull that way. If she was lucky, Kagura would be strong enough to break one of her bones by accident. Mei didn’t like the Konoha hospital, but she did like the sedatives they administered.

[2]

Kagura watched the woman carefully, thinking about her reply, offering a warm smile. “As am I, ma’am. And I apologize, but as a soldier of Konohagakure, even a fellow Genin is deserving of respect, and being formal is something that I do with most everyone. The only exceptions are my close friends, family, and so on.” She couldn’t mention her relationship with the Hokage, because she was still her mentor, and Mei, despite seeming friendly enough, certainly wasn’t on the list of people who fit into those categories. Perhaps she would be though… between being nice enough and being very easy on the eyes--

Kagura shook her head for a moment, realizing that her eyes had trailed for a moment, and quickly recovered. “Sparring? Oh, yes, ma’am. I would love that. And don’t worry, I’m still a student myself, and patience is one of my strengths.” Kagura would take a couple of steps back and lower her wooden sword, watching the smaller woman carefully. Looking at the staff, she knew that defending against such a weapon would be a little more tricky; she had used one before, during her weapon’s exploration phase when she was younger and still training with her father and mother, so she was vaguely familiar, just not as much as with the sword.

Kagura would also, should she find out that she was faster or stronger in any way, automatically compensate her own abilities to bring herself to Mei’s level so they could have a good spar. There was nothing to be learned from a one sided beatdown from either of them. “When you’re ready, I am Ma’am.”

[2]

"Alright then, Miss," Mei replied. The formality felt strange, but the dark-haired woman didn’t feel like arguing the point. “I’ll address you the same way, then.”

She returned the handshake with a firm grip, but not hard enough to cause any discomfort. Limp handshakes felt gross, and Kagura hadn’t done anything to deserve that. A more relaxed smile crossed Mei’s face and she lifted her practice staff and switched to a two-handed grip before settling into a ready position.

“Well, thanks for indulging me even after I interrupted your training, Miss. Let’s have some fun!”

Her voice hadn’t finished resonating throughout the training room when the stick was pulled back and up at an angle before smashing down right at Kagura’s head.

“Ha!” she cried out with the strike before dancing backward and readying the practice staff for a jab.

Mei’s movements weren’t the fastest or strongest, but they were precise and practiced thanks to practicing bo kata with a broom. It had looked silly at the time and definitely earned her some odd looks, but the payoff was worth it. Her cloak flared around her body as Mei moved, giving her movements a rather dramatic flair. It also revealed the white sports bra and with red straps and matching crimson shorts beneath the garment.

She was already grinning widely, looking excited for Kagura’s defense.

[3]

Kagura wasn’t entirely certain she knew how to feel about being called ‘miss’. It wasn’t that it was disrespectful or anything, it was that it sounded like she was addressing an old lady, and didn’t have the feel of the same professionalism. Still, she was trying, so Kagura would let it slide for now, instead focusing on the spar, smiling at her thanks and giving her a nod. She watched carefully, not activating any chakra just yet, and gauging the strike that came at her head from above. Quickly, Kagura raised her blade, blocking the wooden weapon with her own, and letting her elbow bend with the impact. Now that she had a gauge of the woman’s strength, it was time to check her speed.

“Not bad…” she muttered, tilting sideways and pivoting backwards to dodge the jab before starting her own counterattack. It would be a series of strikes, all moving at a relatively slow pace compared to what she was capable of, just to get a read on how quick the woman’s reflexes were in perception and coordination. One was aimed for the shoulder, the next her stomach, and the last the other shoulder. Seeing her attire made her eye twitch slightly as it was certainly a distraction, but luckily it was mostly covered by the woman’s cloak, so she was able to push the thoughts out of her mind for the moment.

Once her small attack flurry was complete, either dodged or blocked considering it was just meant to be a test surely, she would step backwards and wait to see what the response would be.

[3]

Mei was impressed with how easily Kagura blocked her first few attacks, not even missing a beat when she changed methods on a dime. Given that the dark haired Genin was maybe a few months out of the Academy, it wasn’t hard to believe that anyone she trained with was likely stronger than her. Even if Kagura was also a Genin, she likely had a bit more experience under her belt than Mei.

Nonetheless she was enjoying the spar, even the beginning, which was more of a warm-up for the two to feel each other out. If Mei believed in anything, it was that you could learn a lot about a person by fighting with them.

The jabs with the sword weren’t easy to avoid or block with a spin of her training staff, but they were close to being a bit too fast for Mei to keep up. Given that Kagura didn’t appear strained, this likely wasn’t as fast as the brown haired ninja could go.

Mei lunged forward and aimed a jab at Kagura’s midsection before reversing her grip on the staff to swing the upper part down towards her shoulder, pushing the other Genin to dodge and block. Then, as soon as the formal woman sidestepped the swing, Mei dropped to one knee in a relatively smooth transition, and switched her grip once more to sweep the staff at Kagura’s ankles once and then bring it back in the opposite direction to see if she could trip her up.

[4]

A spinning technique to block the attacks… smart, as since they were jabs, as long as they were redirected and didn’t hit the center spot where the hands were doing the spinning. Impressed, she gave the woman a smile and a nod of respect, but that faded quickly as the woman began to start her attack yet again. She fully expected for this to go back and forth a considerable number of times, and since she had a good read of her physical capabilities and was matching them, she wanted to see what the woman would come up with, her level of creativity and ingenuity being what she could showcase.

The woman dropping to a knee was definitely unexpected after the dodge of the thrust and block of the strike, because normally it would be a bad tactic; it put you into a spot where you couldn’t really dodge a counter-attack, and threw off your center of gravity, but the strategy might have been using that as a basis to throw off her guard. If you knew it was a bad idea, and the enemy knew it was a bad idea, the enemy wouldn’t expect you to just say ‘Eh’ and try it anyway. Unpredictability, an asset to any Shinobi. The sweep worked to an extent; the staff hit one ankle and caused her to stumble backwards before regaining her footing and centering herself, before lunging forward to strike towards the crouching target’s center of mass with a quick jab.

[4]

The second sweep at Kagura’s ankles had been a mistake. While the first attempt to disrupt her balance had been somewhat successful, the brunette recovered more quickly than Mei anticipated. The jab managed to hit her right in the stomach, only leaving Mei a split second to tense up and try to simply muscle through the blow. She grunted and hopped backwards awkwardly, nearly tripping over her own cloak. With a frustrated noise, Mei pulled its clasp loose and tossed the garment to the side. She would need to work on fighting in her cloak more often, but getting all tangled up was so annoying.

Now, only her sports bra and shorts, Mei straightened up and grinned. A bruise could already be seen forming where Kagura’s blow landed, but the dark haired young woman didn’t even seem terribly upset by it. Other than a bit of a wince tugging her smile off kilter, Mei looked as though she were raring to go.

“Nice shot!”

She lunged forward again with an accompanying jab. This one, however, didn’t follow through. It was a feint. As soon as Kagura moved to dodge it, Mei spun around her and attempted a horizontal strike aimed at the other Genin’s back. This strike had as much strength as she could control without overextending thrown into it.

Not wanting to be caught off guard again, Mei used a sort of shuffling series of sidesteps to gain distance and prepared her staff to knock Kagura’s practice sword off balance.

[5]

Kagura couldn’t help it… she blushed lightly at the woman as she tossed away her apparel and revealed herself in all her curvaceous, compact glory. Normally, that wouldn’t have been an issue… probably wouldn’t have been a problem at all a week ago… but since then, she had met, fell in love with, and discovered herself through Akari, the Hokage, who was her lover in secret. They couldn’t come out and tell the village or anything, not until she was strong enough to stand side by side with Akari, instead of simply in the Hokage’s shadow. But because of that encounter, she knew what her own orientation towards the different genders was, and for reasons she could not explain, she felt something for the smaller woman.

Looking towards the bruise finally, she frowned only for a moment. She had held back quite a bit, but the blow didn’t seem to really deter the woman, only make her more energetic and cheerful. There were the types who just enjoyed a good fight, win or lose… perhaps she was among those sparse few types of people… a refreshing thought. It didn’t hurt that she was well proportioned and lunging directly at her with a jab. Wait what? Surprised that her train of thought had deviated off so badly, she fell for the feint, swinging her sword up and away to hit nothing but air, and then the snap as it connected with her back brought her out of her day dream. Pain seared through her, it was a solid hit… but that only gave her focus. With a few hops, she moved out of range entirely and smiled at Mei. “You too… fell for that feint hook, line and sinker.”

She would wait then, on the defensive a little bit, flustered, and not sure how to continue just yet. She needed to clear her head or she would seriously lose this.

[5]

Tagging Kagura provided a brief sense of satisfaction, tit for tat. Perhaps they were more evenly matched than Mei originally thought. To test that, she would need to go at it again and with different moves this time. She didn’t expect Kagura to fall for the same trick twice. The real question was whether to use a new combo or remix the moves she’d already been using to try and lure Kagura into a false sense of security. On one hand, it would buy some time, on the other it was a simple plan and more or less copied what she’d already done.

A set of new moves would require to think of something ten seconds ago, however. Fortunately, Kagura didn’t immediately launch a counter attack, but she wouldn’t just stand there forever.

“Let’s take this up a notch!” Mei declared in part because she was truly excited about the match but also because she needed to make sure she delayed whatever Kagura might do next for a split second.

That time was just enough for the raven haired Genin to circle Kagura for a moment before charging in and proceeding to jab several times at various parts of the taller woman’s body --shoulders, side of the ribs, diaphragm, a lower spot on her torso near the floating rib, upper arms, even a few were aimed at Kagura’s neck and head.

While she worked to keep Kagura busy, Mei thought about what she might do next. Slashing or sweeping strikes perhaps? Maybe a kick just to mix it up.

[6]

The sting on her back helped her focus, allowing her mind to grasp the concept that she was in a real fight at the moment, and because she had slowed herself down, she didn’t have the luxury of looking over the smaller woman’s curvature. She shouldn’t have been in the first place. She had Akari. What the hell was wrong with her? It wasn’t like Akari wasn’t enough… far from it. She hadn’t felt so whole in her entire life… but why was she still feeling that same type of attraction towards Mei? Was it the fun, bubbly attitude that set her apart? It was certainly more than just physical… but with a bit of a struggle, she pressed that into the corner of her mind and tried to contain it.

Mei was attacking again.

This time, she was able to quickly bat each jab aside, trying her best to focus on the weapon and not the woman wielding it. She hated this feeling, and it was becoming more and more of a distraction. If this kept up, she was going to have to stop giving herself a handicap to make the fight more interesting and fair. Mei wasn’t making it fair simply by making her feel things she wasn’t sure if she wanted to feel, but felt regardless of her own will. The rollercoaster of emotion and turmoil in her heart caused her to make mistakes, but she had to try to focus. Despite her feelings, she was Hokage's apprentice. To not at least give the woman a proper challenge was not only a blow to her own pride and a shame to her position, but disrespectful to Mei as an opponent.

Very suddenly, after batting away a jab, she lunged forward, tossing the Bokken to the other hand to smack the staff while trying to bring her arm up into a powerful clothesline. It could be ducked under or dodged, but she was trying to focus on the fight while still keeping things fair. If she was dodged she would take a few more steps forward and twirl to face her enemy. If she was successful then it would put Mei on her plump ass hopefully.

[6]

Mei had no idea what emotions or feelings of attraction she’d elicited in her sparring partner. Though Kagura had seemed a little distracted, which annoyed her, that ever present smile only grew when she saw the other woman regain her focus and bat aside her attacks with ease. More than anything, she wanted Kagura to give her a good fight. That couldn’t happen with the more experienced Genin daydreaming or holding back too much.

The dark haired Genin was surprised when Kagura switched her weapon to her other hand to block and raised her free arm in preparation for a counterattack. That change was all the warning she got for what happened next. Rather than dodge, which would have been too predictable or get knocked over, Mei focused nature chakra in her neck. Her eyes seemed to heat up with red undertones and the skin on her neck turned a slate grey color as the flesh hardened.

Her teeth her forced together, clacking painfully, from Kagura’s arm also hitting her chin but Mei stayed on her feet. She was forced to stumble backwards, turning her staff horizontally and shoving it forwards at the brunette’s upper chest. She took a quick step forward at the same time in an attempt to force a block. As soon as Kagura’s arms came up to deal with the staff, her foot lashed out in a front kick aimed at the other Genin’s midriff.

Despite the pain from Kagura’s attack, Mei grinned, revealing that her canines had elongated and grown sharper.

“This is what I’m talking about!” she cheered, looking a bit more crazed than enthusiastic at this point.

[7]

Kagura had been expecting a lot of things… but nothing like what actually happened. Seeing the woman’s flesh literally change colors and it felt like she was striking a rock rather than one of the most vulnerable parts of the human body, and the increased durability allowed the woman to stay on her feet. This shocked Kagura, temporarily stunned for a moment, and she was easily shoved backwards by the woman’s staff, causing the brunette to stagger for a moment as she felt the kick connect, impacting her in the gut and causing her to hunch for a moment, almost knocking the wind out of her. There was too much that needed to be answered, her eyes still locked on Mei not with fear or concern, but curiosity, but it needed her to be able to ask questions, which meant it was time to pause the match.

Which meant it was time to, for a moment, show what she was really capable of. Chakra flowed through her muscles as she activated her Dance of the Heavens and her blade glowed green as she activated Chakra Flow, stepping forward as her sword arm blurred and the jabbing strikes came in a flurry of strikes. A shoulder, a leg, an arm… various non-lethal and outside areas were struck in rapid succession on the smaller woman’s body as Kagura’s expression hardened, finally using some of her actual speed and strength for a moment to drive her back, accidentally striking the bo-staff in the dead center as she had tried to block and breaking it in half. A rock behind her would cause her to trip, and Kagura would stand over her with the wooden blade pointed at her throat. Once she wasn’t moving, Kag took a breath and some of her coldness melted from her expression. “Short Break. That’s a Bloodline, isn’t it?” she asked, curiosity painting her tone.

[7]

Mei wasn’t expecting her combo to work as well as it did, but the surprised look on Kagura’s face explained why it had. Before the dark haired woman could think up another combo to test against the other Genin’s skills, Kagura hit her with a flurry of green glowing strikes. She couldn’t even track the movements, except to note the areas where she’d been struck. Bursts of bruising pain caused her to raise up her practice staff in an attempt to defend against the onslaught but that only resulted in a cracking noise as the poor practice weapon gave way.

By the time she managed to get a read on Kagura’s location, she was staring up at the woman’s face down the end of the practice sword aimed at her neck, which had reverted to its normal state when Kagura broke her concentration.

After a few stunned moments of silence, Mei recovered her smile, a wild thing that stretched her cheeks so far they looked like they might break.

“Wow! I didn’t know you were that strong Miss Kagura! That was Chunin level ability right there! That’s amazing!” she practically gushed.

While many ninja, even those who had developed more maturity than a fresh Genin would normally not want to stay in such a prone position, Mei appeared to be completely at ease with the bokken hovering just above her throat. She made no attempts to roll to the side or sit up. Rather, she still looked pleased as punch, red faced and all but laughing excitedly.

Even the destruction of her practice weapon only caused minor disappointment. It was simply the result of using something that had never been meant for use as a weapon of any kind, not even a training one, in the first place.

Her heart was hammering against her ribcage with such force it felt like her chest had been turned into a drum. The rush of excitement that Kagura’s moves caused was the most alive she’d felt in years.

“Bloodline?” Mei frowned for the first time since Kagura met her. “More like a curse,” she grumbled.

[8]

Kagura had finally stowed her awkward feelings for a moment as the information she had requested came out, but not quite as detailed as she might have liked. She twirled the blade which lost its glow, slid it into her belt, and moved to stand even closer to the young woman, slipping down to her knees, leaning over the woman to get a closer look and well within Mei’s personal space, dismissing entirely the young woman’s blushing as a weird reaction as she compiled what she knew. Having been familiar with many things from her father’s teachings to include what was known about the various bloodlines that wandered their planet as potential enemies and allies, she had a suspicion what she was looking at, but when she said ‘curse’ that all but confirmed it.

“Nature Clan, right?” It was a good chance, but confirming it was the best course of action. Her bronze eyes traced the woman’s skin, looking at the affected area even if she dismissed it and it began to shrink up. The brunette’s expression was actually interested in Mei now, more than curiosity or attraction, as though she had found something particularly valuable. After spending a bit too much time hovering mere inches away from the woman, she would slowly lean back and then sit down properly next to her. Looking over at the broken staff, she would frown for a moment and then her bronze eyes would lock with Mei’s own. “You’re going to accompany me to the Market when we finish our conversation. I owe you for breaking your weapon, and so long as you have a little bit of Ryo, I know a shop that can make us some real weapons we can use, custom order. I’ll introduce you and put in a good word… hopefully that will be enough to compensate?” She really hadn’t meant to break the weapon but she also hadn’t expected that one particular blow to be so perfectly blocked by the weapon.

“But every source of power has a drawback. It’s not a curse if you wield it properly, just like a weapon. Some people think weapons are the source of evil, but really, it’s all about the person using the weapon. If you use your power the right way, it will feel a lot less like a curse… I might be able to help you there. I train under a really smart Sensei… might be willing to take on another student. She could help you for sure if I can’t… but I don’t have any say in it. It would be up to you to impress her, but having that Bloodline definitely gives you bonus points. More potential than your typical Genin.”

Kagura wasn’t super thrilled about adding another Bloodline User to the group considering she was still jealous of Akari’s Sharingan, but that wasn’t a problem. She wanted to see what Mei was capable of, and waited patiently for a response, completely ignoring the fact that her odd attraction might have anything to do with wanting to bring her to the team. For a moment, a small bit of conversation with Akari flashed through her mind… and she wondered if she had somehow truly brought this upon herself, having made that joke with her about meeting someone new and falling for them together with the dark-haired teen. She was nervous about all of that, but stowed it for now, focusing on Mei’s reaction to the ideas presented.

[8]

Once the practice sword was no longer aimed at her head, Mei took the liberty of sitting up and bending one knee so she could rest her arm across it. Her abilities had clearly taken Kagura off guard, so the questions weren’t unexpected. The unusually close proximity of the stronger Genin’s face to hers earned the brunette raised brows.

Mei nodded once to confirm that she had the Nature Clan’s cursed bloodline. Unlike the cheery demeanor she had earlier, the ravenette’s expression was calmer.

“It was a cheap thing anyway, you don’t have to take responsibility for breaking that. It was my fault for using something that wasn’t even built to be a training weapon. I got that stick from the hardware store.” The ravenette waved off the broken “training staff” with ease. “I will go shopping with you though,” Mei smiled briefly.

That smaller smile lasted until Kagura began talking about how her clan’s curse was just like any other power or ability. Years of loneliness, of longing for her mother, of both loving and hating her father, of struggling to even recall either of their faces sometimes had taught her something that no pep talk from a stranger could change so easily.

She gave Kagura a hard look, eyes heating up again, taking on that eerie red tone.

“Kagura, don’t lecture me about something you have no idea about. I’m not childish or superstitious or anything like that. My clan’s bloodline is called a curse for a reason. It can degrade someone’s mind to the point that they no longer distinguish between friend and foe. My own father didn’t recognize the face of his wife and child. It’s not about calling something evil because it’s scary or powerful. It’s about understanding how dangerous it is for anyone who has it. Living in fear because you’re a danger to everyone around you is a curse. Having the blood of your own family on your hands is a curse. Having your family ripped apart by a bloodline is a curse.”

Mei stood up and walked a short distance away from Kagura, standing with her back to the brunette for a moment. She sighed heavily before turning back around to collect the broken halves of her staff.

“But clans and bloodlines are too much of a depressing topic for me. So are we shopping or not?” The raven haired Genin smiled, as though she hadn’t just gone on a short tirade. The anger had drained away quickly because Mei had given up to spending too much energy caring about such things.

[9]

Kagura blinked in surprise for a moment at the young woman’s change in demeanor… the fact that she had been bubbly and cheerful up until this point and it suddenly shifted made her really pay attention with what came next.  Her eyes would slowly increase in size as the story unfolded, realizing the depth of the ‘drawback’ for the Nature Clan and how it had affected her.  She sat there stunned for a moment as Mei stood up and moved a short distance away, realizing how deeply she had planted her own foot in her mouth, and how she might have hurt the woman… and she could confirm she didn’t like it one bit.

She was on her feet and moving before she realized herself what was happening, and wrapped the woman in a firm hug.  “I am so sorry… I only knew a little about it…” she would whisper, holding her for a few more moments in a display of compassion.  If Mei wrapped around Kagura, she would stay like this as long as the woman held on to her, but if she did not reciprocate the hug, the brunette would release her after a solid ten seconds and take a step back.  It wasn’t pity that she was showing compassion, but genuine care for this young woman’s wellbeing… and now that she understood a little more, she only had more questions and wanted to get to know her better.

Kagura remained within arm’s reach, but far enough away that she wasn’t literally on top of her, and listened as she asked about going shopping.  “Change in plans… but I am curious, when you close your eyes and dream, what kind of weapon do you see yourself wielding?” she asked, a thought passing through her mind of what she was going to do to make it up to Mei.  Without the use of Hand-Seals, a shadow clone came into existence behind her and began to pull out a piece of paper and a pencil, jotting down notes from Mei as well as her own specifications for her custom order with promise to pay on delivery so long as the total was below 30,000 for the best weapons that money could buy.  The messenger bird station was within a kilometer, so it wouldn’t be an issue to have the clone deliver the order to the smith Azalea without asking Mei permission or even explaining that she had just bought her a weapon, as well as a message to Akari asking her to join them as soon as possible, noting it wasn’t an emergency, but it was important, and to reserve a training floor for them for privacy.  It wouldn’t be ready for a few days, but that was the surprise she had in store to make it up to her.

[9]

"It's fine," Mei assured the brunette, awkwardly waiting for Kagura to release her. More than anything, she just wanted to move on from the topic.

To her, it didn’t matter much whether the brunette apologized. It wouldn’t change anything about her situation. Rather than dwell on her losses, Mei wanted to make the best of life until she managed to die. Her life was going to be far too short to warrant holding grudges over something as petty as words.

The mention of weapons was a welcome change in subject for the raven-and-red-haired woman. So much so that Mei didn’t even question the shadow clone.

“Something badass, of course. Unique. I’m going to get a scythe one day. I’ve only seen a few in the weapons shops in town, but once I save up enough pay from missions I can buy one and get it upgraded. The final product will be tall,” Mei held up, maybe a foot above the top of her head to indicate the height, “and black with red accents. That’s my aesthetic, as you might have noticed.”

The thought of her dream weapon, or talking about weaponry in general usually put Mei in a good mood. Today was no different. Her smile returned in earnest and her face became more expressive and animated as she talked.

“I haven’t thought of a name yet, but I have a list of options. I’m waiting until I actually get it to make a final decision. Until then, I’m working on my skill with longer weapons like that practice staff. I’ll probably buy another one today, not an exact replacement because the one I came in here with today was a piece of crap, but one actually made for weapon training. A scythe isn’t too much different than a staff, it just has a sharp end. Like an extra long, curved kunai.”

[10]

Once the clone had left, Kagura recentered her attention on Mei. “So… if that’s the burden you bear, I think it would be really smart to put you on the same team as me and my teacher. Not only is she the smartest person I have ever met, but she also is a truly gifted Uchiha… meaning that, if what I do know about Nature Clan is correct, her Genjutsu works really well on you if you were ever to lose yourself.” Hearing about Mei’s father had only reinforced the idea that she needed to figure it out completely, and bring that understanding to help Mei gain control of her ‘Curse’.

“And for the record, I’m not scared, Mei.” Instead of Ma’am, she had used the woman’s actual name, trying to bridge that gap and shake of a little bit of the professionalism in support of her new friend, and gave her a warm smile. “I just want to learn more about you… let’s forgo shopping for just a bit longer. But there’s no way we can sit around and get to know each other better on an empty stomach…” Kagura moved to a nearby tree and came back with a particularly large container with her food. Today, she had a large box full of fried rice with a combination of breaded pork, chicken and shrimp all mixed together along with some broccoli, cauliflower, corn, peas and diced carrots and then topped with a delectable brown sauce that smelled of garlic and soy sauce and other ingredients, and the scent that Mei would be able to smell was absolutely divine. The box was easily capable of feeding three people, or a couple of people who were really hungry, but that was because she planned to be ready if Akari had managed to get away from work long enough to meet her on the training grounds. Coincidentally, she had packed an extra set of utensils as well.

“Let me make up for diving into such a depressing topic, a little at least, by sharing my lunch.” While she lacked the skills in chemistry to make the food she made truly beneficial for a Ninja’s body, she made up for it with absolute legendary expertise in making it taste good. Kagura sat down, hoping Mei would join her.

[10]

Mei’s eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly and the cheery expression stretched just a bit too wide to look genuine when Kagura shifted the topic back to her clan and bloodline. She had heard of the Uchiha clan and their famed dojutsu. Anyone who ran in ninja circles had heard at least the rumors and tall tales about what the Sharingan could do. Sifting exaggeration from truth wasn’t possible without actually getting closer to the clan, or knowing where to look for records of their history.

From what she had gleaned from history in the Academy and a bit of extracurricular reading, Mei knew that the stories about their genjutsu prowess were likely true. Along with their heightened combat skill and ability to analyze jutsu through their dojutsu. Her knowledge of the Nature Clan wasn’t as in depth as she’d like, but the raven haired shinobi had access to more texts about it than the average person. It was considered her birthright, a term that made her sneer internally.

Even without that knowledge, it wouldn’t be difficult to surmise that someone in a compromised state of mind would be especially vulnerable to genjutsu. While Mei was worried about what might happen if she lost control of her curse, she didn’t feel much relief about turning that responsibility over to someone else. If anything, limiting her use of her bloodline was the safest option.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re scared or if your teacher is an Uchiha,” Mei said after a long pause, the smile dropping from her face. “I’m not trying to live a life where I’m dependent on someone else to regulate my bloodline.”

Luckily for Kagura, she had unwittingly offered the raven haired Genin one of her prime motivations in life: food.

“I’ll stay for lunch though.” With that, Mei took a seat across from Kagura, already eyeing the food with an excited look.

What better way to get dark thoughts off her mind than a good meal?

“That smells delicious.”

[11]

Kagura mentally cursed; she had just shoved her foot further in her mouth, now having stepped on her pride as well as hit a tender subject. Why was she having such a reckless train of thought? Couldn’t think before she spoke? It was the most basic thing, trying to think before you spoke, considered the other person's feelings, and made a selection in word choice, but the entire time thus far, Kagura had been so desperate to help that she had been blurting out the first thing that came to her mind. What was wrong with her? Ever since she realized that she was attracted to the shorter woman and the conflicting emotions, she hadn’t been able to get her head on straight.

She slowly handed the other woman a set of utensils, giving her a small smile. “I… I’m not normally so thoughtless… something is messing with my head I think.” And it was very true, but the more she thought about it, the more she knew the reason, and the more she hated herself for it. Kagura was not the type to be unfaithful, and loved Akari… so why couldn’t she shake this attraction towards Mei? Was there something wrong with her? A feeling of self-loathing washed over her and Kagura didn’t bother with her own utensils… suddenly not feeling her own appetite. She wanted to sort this out… figure out why she felt the way she did, and stop hating herself, especially for putting her foot in her mouth with someone who she wanted to stay around.

The emotional turmoil had brought Kagura to a stand-still in conversation, her eyes staring into the food that hopefully Mei was devouring. If she could at least make her happy with her semi-legendary cooking skills, maybe she would feel just a little bit better about the situation.

[11]

Mei had snagged a bit of pork and cauliflower when Kagura spoke up again. She paused rather than shoving the tasty looking morsel in her mouth. It was tempting to eat first and talk later, the ravenette's mouth was already watering. But it was hard to just ignore how down in the dumps Kagura looked.

"Don't look so down, Kagura. You must be hungry. No one thinks straight on an empty stomach. That can easily be fixed with the spread you made. Food usually makes me feel better."

Mei took a bite to demonstrate this, eyes lighting up at the flavor of the food.

"Mm!" she hummed happily, having to remind herself to chew and swallow her food before talking.

"This is great! Are you sure you don't want to open up a restaurant?"

The raven-haired shinobi took another bite of the fried rice and savored it, a pleased smile stretching across her face. She focused on getting bits of everything and trying different combinations of the vegetables and meats mixed into the rice. Mei was all but bouncing with happiness. What a lucky day, a good spar and even better food. Free food was the best kind in her opinion, but free food that was also tasty was a rare treat.

"Where did you learn to cook?"

[12]

Kagura finally stopped trying to see if she could stare holes into the ground in anguish as Mei spoke, locking eyes with the girl and watching her reaction to the food she made. As something of a perfectionist when it came to cooking, one of her absolute favorite things was watching someone who tried her food. Good or bad reaction, it didn’t matter, because she would learn from it, and make something even better next time or simply see the delight as her creation brought them happiness. Seeing her light up brought a touch of a smile back to her face, despite the inner conflict, and being thankful that she hadn’t completely botched her first impression with the girl.

She shook her head side to side at the first question. “No… well, maybe one day when I can’t serve anymore, but I want to be a soldier for Konohagakure, and serve the Hokage as long as I can first. Then, maybe.” She finally reached out, taking a small portion and ate it. This was easily some of her best work, even if it didn’t hold a candle to what she could make when she didn’t need to worry about transporting it around. Those dishes she made with a full kitchen and without size or perishableness limitations were absolutely stunning… maybe she could have Mei try some one day.

The second question came, and her smile shrank. “My parents are both physically disabled from their time in service, so they struggle even with little things like house chores and cooking. I basically taught myself since I was very young, learning what worked and didn’t. A ton of trial and error born from necessity.” Since she started working as a Ninja, it was one of the things she worried about, but apparently the couple had hired someone full time to help them around the house now that Kagura had moved out. The small smile returned on the brunette’s face as she pushed the container a little closer to Mei, encouraging her to dig in, while taking another small bite despite her not being hungry.

[12]

Just when the conversation seemed to start getting off the ground, they stumbled into yet another awkward moment. Mei hadn’t expected the question about the origins of Kagura’s cooking skill, something she seemed to enjoy and take pride in, to be painful. Her own pleased look faltered a bit at having accidentally brought up an unpleasant topic.

“Guess, I know how to put my foot in my mouth, too, huh,” the raven-haired Genin said. She didn’t apologize, though, not wanting to drag it on or seem like she pitied Kagura.

Instead, Mei kept eating in response to the brunette’s encouragement. The shorter Genin let a comfortable silence fall between them while she ate. Kagura didn’t seem as interested in the food, though, despite being the one to suggest they have lunch together. Rather than pry, Mei tried to think of another conversation topic to lighten the mood.

Eventually, Mei’s pace of eating slowed as her stomach filled and she settled on what seemed like a safe topic: weapons. “So this teacher of yours, is she the one who taught you how to use a sword? You have some killer moves, especially that last one where you made your practice sword glow. I thought Uchiha were mostly ninjutsu and genjutsu types.”

Now that she’d been sitting still for a bit, Mei noticed a slight chill from the sweat evaporating off her skin. She glanced around for her cloak, which she’d discarded earlier. She got up and grabbed it before returning to her spot across from Kagura, making sure to keep her gaze mostly on the brunette so that the other Genin would know she was still listening. Once seated, Mei draped the red cloak around her shoulders and relaxed under its comforting weight and warmth. Sure, it would be gross from her sweat, but she could always wash it once she got home.

[13]