⚡ 9th zap | action ⚡

[i_am_not_cute]

[Early in the morning, Pao-Lin returns from her mission, exhausted but itching to get back to normal (Luceti) life. Two weeks just for combat testing? What the hell was that about? She's a pretty fit girl, and there'd been two days of break in the middle of it all, but some of the things the Malnosso made her do strained even her. Which, she supposes, was the point of it all, but it still sucked. She's so very glad to be back in the village, with friends and good food and her own apartment, and when she gets back to said apartment she sits on her couch with some snacks and her journal to check what she missed. There's going to be a lot to go through, but after being up and about nearly nonstop the past two weeks, Pao-Lin doesn't mind sitting still for a while, so sit still she does, eagerly flipping through the pages.

The eagerness quickly fades when she comes across Ginia's journal post not two days before, declaring the departure of one Rupert Giles. The announcement unsettles Pao-Lin: Giles was one of the first people she'd met in Luceti, someone who seemed like he'd always been around and always would be. Although the two hadn't been that close, she'd liked him a lot and they'd experienced quite a few things together. To have him just suddenly be gone...

With unease burning in her throat, Pao-Lin continues perusing past entries. Seems like some sort of experiment happened while she was away...not that anyone seems to remember what happened then. (Perhaps for the better? She's certainly glad she missed out on things.) There's an announcement from the Malnosso about the missions, and --

Toph. Toph is gone, too.

Her heart thuds against her chest, tripping over the news. She has to take a moment to catch her breath so she can process things. How could this happen? Pao-Lin wonders. Weren't she and Toph supposed to become even better friends in Luceti in the future? They couldn't do that if she were gone! Were Toph's future memories really just fake ones created by the Malnosso, then? In other circumstances, Pao-Lin's innate optimism would take over and reassure her that maybe Toph, like Luca, would come back eventually. She'd have to, if they were going to be much closer later on. But Pao-Lin's tired from her mission, and barely recovered from learning about Giles' departure, so she's not bouncing back into shape as easily as she should.

The final blow comes when she finds Mia's voicepost about Amiti being sent home. After that, Pao-Lin doesn't even bother checking the rest of the entries.

Three friends, gone within two weeks. She didn't even get to say goodbye to any of them properly. And none of them had even known she was gone, either: by the time she'd actually found the mission summons in her journal, Pao-Lin had to report in. There was only enough time for a quick message to Luca letting him know that their drawing lessons were temporarily on hold, and then she had to get ready and head out, more concerned with what she'd have to do on this mission than about losing friends in the meantime. It's not like the girl has any shortage of them in Luceti, but they're still all dear to her, seeing how few she's had in her life prior to this.

Pao-Lin slowly closes her journal and sets it on a nearby coffee table, next to her forgotten snacks. She lies down on the couch, clutches a pillow to her chest, and silently cries a little.]

***

[Once she's pulled herself together sufficiently enough, Pao-Lin heads out into Luceti to go about her day. Despite having spent most of the past two weeks involved in strenuous physical activity, she'll still go through her kung fu forms by the river, though her movements won't be as spirited or as focused as they usually are. She'll take her main meals at Seventh Heaven, but she'll drop by the bakery for some pocket food before wandering aimlessly through the streets, not going anywhere in particular but not wanting to stay at home and brood, either. At night she can be found at Good Spirits, staring morosely at a melting milkshake. If approached at any point, she'll put on the brightest smile she can, but at this moment the brightness will be less like sunshine and more like a flickering lightbulb.]

Comments

what else is RP for but TL;DRing, lol

[i_am_not_cute]

[Pao-Lin nods as she listens to Tenten talk -- this sort of thing interests her. But equally as interesting is...]

Chakra, huh? Someone named Shikamaru mentioned that to me a while back. Do you know him?

i'd like to use one of my lifelines

[weaponry]

Shikamaru? Yeah. Of course I know him. We're from the same village and teammates of sorts back home. I graduated a year before him in the ninja academy, but since we're the same rank we're assigned to the same type of stuff sometimes. [ She smiles. ] There's a lot of us here.

are you going to ask the audience......

[i_am_not_cute]

Whoah, a ninja academy? That sounds so cool! [It's like something out of a shonen series!] I've heard stories about things like those in my world, but I don't think they're actually real back home...

i love asking the audience!

[weaponry]

Yeah. You guys have stories about that? Mind sharing them? [ She sits leans against a tree branch and grins! It's nice to have someone from a place where ninja aren't obsolete. ]

The masses are always right! Except when they aren't.

[i_am_not_cute]

[Pao-Lin takes a moment to think.]

Well, a friend's told me about stories from Japan where ninjas are trained in different schools, and sometimes ninjas from another school will do something bad to a different school, and then a big fight breaks out. I've also read a manga series about ninjas who are also pirates and sometimes they fight evil spirits and guide souls to the afterlife too... [boy that doesn't sound familiar at all]

THEY'RE ALWAYS RIGHT TO ME THEN..

[weaponry]

Well, I guess we're trained at different schools, but, that's because people live in different countries. Us getting into a fight with other schools is more of a tournament to be promoted, rather than one school randomly gaining up on the other.

Though, whatever the hell you just mentioned now sounds silly. Pirates who fight off evil spirits and guide souls into the afterlife? What kind of unrealistic crap is that! [At least to Tenten it's not! What a shame! I personally like the pirates who help protect the Soul Society.. ]

Because of your l33t ninja skills, right?

[i_am_not_cute]

Well, like I said, they're not real stories anyway. [Headtilt.] Different countries, huh? Ninjas are only in one country in my world, or so I've heard.

It's actually because I'm Oprah but this answer is applicable!

[weaponry]

Not where I'm from. There are many overlying countries like the Land of Fire, and the Land of Earth, and the Land of Lightning and the Land of Wind and many other lands that make up territories of different cultures. I'm from the Hidden Leaf Village, one of the most powerful villages in the world, and the center of the Land of Fire. There's about twenty different lands too, but, they're always reforming or combining or dissolving or we have some new ones springing up. It's not a very stable place for new or smaller entities. [ war and power hungry bastards being in charge makes everything else hell ): ! ]

...so does this mean Oprah is also a ninja?

[i_am_not_cute]

Ooh, what's the Land of Lightning like? I guess the ninjas from there can use lightning powers or something, right?

Yes!

[weaponry]

The Land of Lightning is located on a peninsula. In the center of the country there are a bunch of mountain ranges, which have enough thunderstorms for the place to receive it's namesake. There are many rivers that flow along the mountains and make a crooked, but beautiful coastline.

The main town is called Kumogakure, or the Village Hidden in the Clouds. It's leader is the Raikage, a fearsome man that can coat his body in lightning to become faster than any other shinobi in the world, and, he can also channel electricity around him for protection from attacks and to increase the force of his. Lightning techniques and sword usage are common facets from the village, though, that doesn't mean that lightning techniques are only limited to this village. I know a lot of ninja from my own land that use lightning style attacks. A person's inner nature and genetics determine which elements a person can best use - not the country they're from.

That explains...not much, actually! :|a

[i_am_not_cute]

[Man, Pao-Lin is mentally all "/chinhands forever" listening to Tenten. Her world sounds like the shit.]

So what kind of elements do you use? Fire, or water, or...?

[weaponry]

[ Her world is amazing! At a first glance! ]

I don't use an element actually. I just use weaponry. I seal them into my scrolls using a space-time ninjutsu only to summon them later. So I guess if I did have an element it'd be space time ninjutsu but, specializing in the general sealing technique isn't an element anyways.

[i_am_not_cute]

I remember Shikamaru talking about that during the last draft. It sounds so useful! What kinds of weapons do you use?

[weaponry]

What weapons I use? I generally use anything, really. If it had a name back home, chances are I could use it. I prefer projectiles above all, though.

[i_am_not_cute]

{Versatility! Pao-Lin is impressed. It's why she tries to learn as many things as possible, even if it's just in theory.]

So you can use, like, throwing stars, right? I've tried them myself, but...they were a bit harder to use than I thought.

[weaponry]

[ Tenten's versatility skills only apply with weapons. ]

Yeah. Shurikens are some of my most favorite weapons. I can give you some pointers if you wanted. In fact, we can practice right now, if you want.

[i_am_not_cute]

Oh -- could we really? I mean, if you were busy, we don't have to...

[Yep. She's in a lot better mood right now at the prospect of honing her fighting skills.]


((OOC: Wanna end this right before they go off to have shuriken practice-y funtimes? They should probably at least give their names first though, lol.))

/uses this icon shamelessly

[weaponry]

I'm not at all busy. It all counts under training, right? I mean, sometimes you learn more from teaching others than you do working alone. [ After seeing her spirits rocket up, Tenten wouldn't deny her suddenly. That's way too rude! ] My name's Tenten, by the way, it's nice to meet you!

[ OOC: Ending it there is fine with me! And yes! Thank you for reminding me, aha! ]

that is an adorable icon, there is no shame in using it

[i_am_not_cute]

I'm Pao-Lin. It's nice to meet you, too! [And does she mean it more than ever.] Thank you for helping me -- I'll think of some way to pay you back for it.

I have a bunch of them that I'll rarely use but are the only icons of her sobs

[weaponry]

No worries! You're already doing me a favor by allowing me to hone my skills.

[i_am_not_cute]

[She shakes her head.]

No, no, I'll definitely think of something! [She grins wider.] So, how are we gonna start?

[weaponry]

[ ooc: My apologies for the lateness!!! I was just overwhelmed with an irl task list yesterday! ]

I'm just going to summon some shurikens and give you some pointers. I'm renowned for my accuracy with shurikens, so, I'll definitely be able to teach you the legendary kunoichi grip! [ She pulls out her scroll and waves her hands to summon a bunch of shurikens. ]

[i_am_not_cute]

((OOC: Not a problem! I've been slow myself.))

All right! Let's get started, then!