Kimimaro and Kin log
Kimimaro let his bone-sword slip from his hand as he sank onto one of the wooden benches in the training hall. It dropped to the stone floor with a clatter, covering the young man’s sigh of discontent. He’d only been working for less than an hour- forty-five minutes- and already he was winded. He slumped down, disappointed.
Of course, the targets he’d been working on this afternoon were slightly more difficult that ordinary ones; they’d been enchanted to move as a real opponent would, and Kimimaro had still managed to beat them nearly to splinters. But none of that was important; what mattered was that he could normally go for an hour before starting to tire. But this time, it had only taken forty-five minutes… was this a side effect of that strange new medicine that the doctors had given him? Or a symptom of this illness, whatever it might be? Was he simply losing his touch?
Kimimaro shook his head as he stood up, and reached to pick up his sword. It might well be any of those things… but so what? Wallowing in his own gloom wasn’t going to fix it; he would simply have to adjust. And the only way he could do that was to keep going.
The raven haired girl was hardly aware anyone was in the training room, as she’d rounded the corner just as the man inside had stopped and thus all sounds ceased. She would have gone outside to work, but it was raining and she was just in no mood to head on outside today. On most other days she would have just gone out and not care, rain was natural and an element she might have to fight through; but it had been raining since last night and the grounds were wetter than piss.
In long strides the young teenaged female made her way to the entrance of the training hall and pulled open the door. To her own start, and something called amazement, she saw the white haired Sound Five leader picking up a sword of bone. Bone? Well that was what it looked like, and Tsuchi Kin had heard rumors about this man with the ability to use his own bone as weapon, but she hadn’t thought it real. Blinking she swallowed and went to turn back and leave, but it was too late, that door had always been a loud one. It had creaked as she entered the practice space and would creak even more on the way out. There was no way to go unnoticed now.
Kin wondered vaguely if he’d even care if she was there, had seen him picking up the rapier which would lead to the knowledge of rest and possible defeat. Would he care if she just quietly practiced at the other end, her arrows and senbon work needing to be touched up on? What if he shouted at her, yelled and told her to get lost? Of course the student would go, as the white haired male was superior to her in so many ways all he had to do was open his mouth and she was gone. But, she still wanted to know; would he care?
Kimimaro had indeed noticed; at the sound of the door opening he spun around, sword in hand. He vaguely recognized this girl- he’d seen her around but couldn’t remember her name, or even if he’d ever been told her name.
“Yes?” His voice was quiet, his expression blank, his demeanor politely distant.
Kin looked up and met his lighter eyes with her deep dark ones, her mouth closed as she quickly thought of something to say. One arm hung to her side, holding the senbon, and the other was bent with hand at the shoulder to hold up the bow and quiver. Her eyes searched his blank face a moment and she returned the favor but spoke boldly in her usual way.
“I didn’t know you were in here,” she said, as if to excuse herself. “I’ll go.”
The white-haired man didn’t know whether to be pleased that his presence still seemed to impressing someone, or annoyed that this someone probably wasn’t anyone worth impressing. “You can stay, there’s plenty of room for both of us,” he replied, not meeting her eyes as his weapon hit one of the targets dead in the center.
Kin nodded when he turned away, and her eyes momentarily watched him practice before she smirked. In silence, as she was trained for such, she took the bow from her shoulder and fitted it quickly. There was a soft woosh in the air as the feathers ruffled in the molecule space before a thunk as her arrows hit a separate target also in the center at Kimimaro‘s end of the room.
Quickly she turned away, trying not to smirk and smile too much as she raised the bow and aimed for a target on her end of the practice hall. She pretended well not to have been doing anything, to not be the one who’d fired the arrow, but it was blatantly obvious she was. The same mechanics, a muscle memory these days, went into stringing the bow and letting it rip. A second woosh thunk came and she sighed, the arrow being in center again. She only missed on bad days, and since her mind was clear it wasn’t a bad day.
Kimimaro raised a pale eyebrow as he watched the arrows meet their targets. Not bad, he thought, not bad at all. This girl’s presence had reawakened his desire to compete. He raised his arm and shot a bone from each of his fingertips, one by one down the row of targets, the bones spinning through the air as if shot from a cannon. Their aim was true; each one hit and arrow, splitting it down the middle with a satisfying crack.
He glanced out of the corner of his eye, waiting to see what the girl would do next.
She couldn’t help but smirk a bit more. Kin was well aware that she could not win against this man in a competition, but she could certainly have some fun. It had been a time since she’d enjoyed herself, and even more a time since she’d had someone to just be in the same room with. As much as she liked to believe Orochimaru was there more often than he actually was, she knew it was all a lie just so she wouldn’t feel lonely.
“Duck,” she whispered, her left hand seeming then to pull back sharply as if teasing a comb through thick hair. The senbon, attached to small thread which she was sure Kimimaro had seen, came whisking back to her and she ducked as well. Passing over her head, they made small tink sounds in the target before her in a straight line flowing vertically. Kin was half squatting, her left leg bent and body pulled in, and half lying, her right leg extended straight to the side. Looking up at the senbon she released the string and she saw them slacken until they piled on the floor.
Afterward she glanced over her shoulder before standing slowly and turning as she did to face Kimimaro. She blinked once, twice, and then spoke to him with her usual half-grin-half-smirk.
“I’m Kin Tsuchi,” she stated with a small almost non-existent shrug. “You can call me Kin, if you want.”
The pale-haired man returned the smirk. “Kaguya Kimimaro,” he replied, by way of introduction. This girl Kin appeared to be fairly skilled, given that she wasn’t a member of the Five… and while it was impossible to tell the full extent of her talents, he found himself wondering why he had never noticed her before.
“How long have you been here… in the castle, I mean?”
Kin was surprised to hear him speak, so much that is, and when he questioned here about her stay she was nearly at a loss for words. Really people didn’t ask her how long she’d been there, so it took a snappy moment to think it over.
“Two and a half years.” She said. “Give or take some months.” With a shrug Kin took several steps toward Kimimaro and then stopped when she’d crossed half the room. Her bow still hung limply in her hand, moving from right to left in boredom and fidget.
“You?” The black haired youth then returned in question, though she was sure it was pointless as he could have been there his entire life.
The bone-wielder was perplexed by this new information… two and a half years, and he had never seen her until now? Of course, Orochimaru’s hideouts tended to be quite large, and there were probably areas of this one that Kimimaro had yet to see. And beyond that, just because one pledged loyalty to Orochimaru did not mean that one was going to stay in his favor for long. Kimimaro had heard stories of people who had entered into his service only to “disappear” a short while later, either because they had proven to be disloyal or not particularly useful. Perhaps he had seen Kin sometime early on and simply not bothered to get to know her… he may have assumed that she would not be staying for very long.
Kimimaro smiled thoughtfully at Kin’s question…. his own residence with Orochimaru had been unusually long. “Since I was about eight… nearly twelve years, now.”
Kin nodded, seeming to be rather awed that he’d been with the man so long. Looking over the pale male before her she wondered exactly what of him made him want to be so loyal, not what made him useful. She herself didn’t think she had any “useful” qualities about her. Kin did no magic, and definitely wasn’t the fiercest fighter (though she did try very hard.) The only real thing she had to offer Orochimaru was her faithfulness to do whatever he said…
It wasn’t a great resume if she had to write it out. Inwardly she frowned, wondering if she could somehow better herself. Maybe she could learn some kind of magic, or take on a new weapon? Kimimaro seemed to have everything she had, and then everything else she didn’t have. Kin had learned long ago not to compare herself with others, but standing here talking with this man made her do just that; compare. She had nothing to offer when it came down to it, the only thing she’d accomplished in the last year was save Orochimaru from a bomb of sorts by diving in front and being hit with the brunt of the blow. What an accomplishment, really… she needed a medal or something!
“That’s a long time,” she stated as her dark eyes rose to meet his lighter ones. “How long have you been,” she paused but then went on: “sick?”
Kimimaro’s eyes narrowed. Only moments ago they had been complete strangers, and she was already prying into that! Had she wanted to know, she could have asked any number of people… ever since his “condition” had been discovered (six months ago, as it were) it had filtered around the castle gossip vine. He could always sense people whispering about it as he passed, speculating over how serious it was, how much longer he would live, and who might become the new leader of the Sound Five if and when he died. But no one had possessed the gall to ask him about it to his face… until now.
Tightening his grip on the bone sword, Kimimaro turned his back to Kin. “I believe I’ve trained enough for today.”
Kin looked down as she thought he was thinking it over, but then he spoke he was going to leave. Snapping her head up she sighed and knew she shouldn’t bother him, but she needed someone to talk to… and help.
“Wait.” She called out to him, her hand reaching out and just inches from his arm before falling back to her side. “I- I’m sorry…” The black haired youth said slowly as she carefully moved around him to look up into his face. “I didn’t mean to be rude.” Kin started and then further explained, “I don’t get told much in all honesty. If I do, I’m last because I’m in my room or outside training and no one wants to find me. Dosu and Zaku always know information well ahead of me, and only the other day I was the second to know something.” She elaborated, her words languid as she took her time to choose her words.
“Don’t go.” Her head shook, hair swinging behind her in a serpentine motion. “If anything, I should be the one leaving.” Voice filled with honesty and a stern tone that sounded as if she were fighting back another choice of words. “I only came to get better, but it was pointless anyway.”
A quiet, mirthless chuckle escaped from between Kimimaro’s lips. This girl was upset because everyone else knew something that she didn’t, something that was none of her business to begin with? “Perhaps you might improve,” he replied, not turning around, “if you spent more time on training, and less on petty gossip.”
Kin stared up into his face with a sudden bold desire. Her expression was fierce and hard, an extreme she’d had not nearly enough. If she could force out the emotion, she’d be stronger and better, but she couldn’t and didn’t even know she was in that void currently.
“Help me.” She said with a solid voice. “The boys are too busy, and Orochimaru-sama can’t be bothered.” Stated Kin with a smirk. “But you, you’re already here.”
Kimimaro kaughed again, this time with amusement. “And what makes you think that I can be bothered?”
Kin smirked up to him, showing her white teeth as she did so. “Come on.” She said as she took a step closer, not that she could “get into his face” but she certainly could try. “What do you have better to do? Sit in your room waiting for… what?” Kin wasn’t sure she should say “what”, there were various what’s that could come about. Medicine, pain, boredom, death…
“I need your help anyway. Just one hour, that’s all.”
The older man smirked, amused at the girl’s persistence. “I have many things to do other than attempt to teach you things which you are incapable of learning.”
And with that, Kimimaro turned and walked back to his room.
Of course, the targets he’d been working on this afternoon were slightly more difficult that ordinary ones; they’d been enchanted to move as a real opponent would, and Kimimaro had still managed to beat them nearly to splinters. But none of that was important; what mattered was that he could normally go for an hour before starting to tire. But this time, it had only taken forty-five minutes… was this a side effect of that strange new medicine that the doctors had given him? Or a symptom of this illness, whatever it might be? Was he simply losing his touch?
Kimimaro shook his head as he stood up, and reached to pick up his sword. It might well be any of those things… but so what? Wallowing in his own gloom wasn’t going to fix it; he would simply have to adjust. And the only way he could do that was to keep going.
The raven haired girl was hardly aware anyone was in the training room, as she’d rounded the corner just as the man inside had stopped and thus all sounds ceased. She would have gone outside to work, but it was raining and she was just in no mood to head on outside today. On most other days she would have just gone out and not care, rain was natural and an element she might have to fight through; but it had been raining since last night and the grounds were wetter than piss.
In long strides the young teenaged female made her way to the entrance of the training hall and pulled open the door. To her own start, and something called amazement, she saw the white haired Sound Five leader picking up a sword of bone. Bone? Well that was what it looked like, and Tsuchi Kin had heard rumors about this man with the ability to use his own bone as weapon, but she hadn’t thought it real. Blinking she swallowed and went to turn back and leave, but it was too late, that door had always been a loud one. It had creaked as she entered the practice space and would creak even more on the way out. There was no way to go unnoticed now.
Kin wondered vaguely if he’d even care if she was there, had seen him picking up the rapier which would lead to the knowledge of rest and possible defeat. Would he care if she just quietly practiced at the other end, her arrows and senbon work needing to be touched up on? What if he shouted at her, yelled and told her to get lost? Of course the student would go, as the white haired male was superior to her in so many ways all he had to do was open his mouth and she was gone. But, she still wanted to know; would he care?
Kimimaro had indeed noticed; at the sound of the door opening he spun around, sword in hand. He vaguely recognized this girl- he’d seen her around but couldn’t remember her name, or even if he’d ever been told her name.
“Yes?” His voice was quiet, his expression blank, his demeanor politely distant.
Kin looked up and met his lighter eyes with her deep dark ones, her mouth closed as she quickly thought of something to say. One arm hung to her side, holding the senbon, and the other was bent with hand at the shoulder to hold up the bow and quiver. Her eyes searched his blank face a moment and she returned the favor but spoke boldly in her usual way.
“I didn’t know you were in here,” she said, as if to excuse herself. “I’ll go.”
The white-haired man didn’t know whether to be pleased that his presence still seemed to impressing someone, or annoyed that this someone probably wasn’t anyone worth impressing. “You can stay, there’s plenty of room for both of us,” he replied, not meeting her eyes as his weapon hit one of the targets dead in the center.
Kin nodded when he turned away, and her eyes momentarily watched him practice before she smirked. In silence, as she was trained for such, she took the bow from her shoulder and fitted it quickly. There was a soft woosh in the air as the feathers ruffled in the molecule space before a thunk as her arrows hit a separate target also in the center at Kimimaro‘s end of the room.
Quickly she turned away, trying not to smirk and smile too much as she raised the bow and aimed for a target on her end of the practice hall. She pretended well not to have been doing anything, to not be the one who’d fired the arrow, but it was blatantly obvious she was. The same mechanics, a muscle memory these days, went into stringing the bow and letting it rip. A second woosh thunk came and she sighed, the arrow being in center again. She only missed on bad days, and since her mind was clear it wasn’t a bad day.
Kimimaro raised a pale eyebrow as he watched the arrows meet their targets. Not bad, he thought, not bad at all. This girl’s presence had reawakened his desire to compete. He raised his arm and shot a bone from each of his fingertips, one by one down the row of targets, the bones spinning through the air as if shot from a cannon. Their aim was true; each one hit and arrow, splitting it down the middle with a satisfying crack.
He glanced out of the corner of his eye, waiting to see what the girl would do next.
She couldn’t help but smirk a bit more. Kin was well aware that she could not win against this man in a competition, but she could certainly have some fun. It had been a time since she’d enjoyed herself, and even more a time since she’d had someone to just be in the same room with. As much as she liked to believe Orochimaru was there more often than he actually was, she knew it was all a lie just so she wouldn’t feel lonely.
“Duck,” she whispered, her left hand seeming then to pull back sharply as if teasing a comb through thick hair. The senbon, attached to small thread which she was sure Kimimaro had seen, came whisking back to her and she ducked as well. Passing over her head, they made small tink sounds in the target before her in a straight line flowing vertically. Kin was half squatting, her left leg bent and body pulled in, and half lying, her right leg extended straight to the side. Looking up at the senbon she released the string and she saw them slacken until they piled on the floor.
Afterward she glanced over her shoulder before standing slowly and turning as she did to face Kimimaro. She blinked once, twice, and then spoke to him with her usual half-grin-half-smirk.
“I’m Kin Tsuchi,” she stated with a small almost non-existent shrug. “You can call me Kin, if you want.”
The pale-haired man returned the smirk. “Kaguya Kimimaro,” he replied, by way of introduction. This girl Kin appeared to be fairly skilled, given that she wasn’t a member of the Five… and while it was impossible to tell the full extent of her talents, he found himself wondering why he had never noticed her before.
“How long have you been here… in the castle, I mean?”
Kin was surprised to hear him speak, so much that is, and when he questioned here about her stay she was nearly at a loss for words. Really people didn’t ask her how long she’d been there, so it took a snappy moment to think it over.
“Two and a half years.” She said. “Give or take some months.” With a shrug Kin took several steps toward Kimimaro and then stopped when she’d crossed half the room. Her bow still hung limply in her hand, moving from right to left in boredom and fidget.
“You?” The black haired youth then returned in question, though she was sure it was pointless as he could have been there his entire life.
The bone-wielder was perplexed by this new information… two and a half years, and he had never seen her until now? Of course, Orochimaru’s hideouts tended to be quite large, and there were probably areas of this one that Kimimaro had yet to see. And beyond that, just because one pledged loyalty to Orochimaru did not mean that one was going to stay in his favor for long. Kimimaro had heard stories of people who had entered into his service only to “disappear” a short while later, either because they had proven to be disloyal or not particularly useful. Perhaps he had seen Kin sometime early on and simply not bothered to get to know her… he may have assumed that she would not be staying for very long.
Kimimaro smiled thoughtfully at Kin’s question…. his own residence with Orochimaru had been unusually long. “Since I was about eight… nearly twelve years, now.”
Kin nodded, seeming to be rather awed that he’d been with the man so long. Looking over the pale male before her she wondered exactly what of him made him want to be so loyal, not what made him useful. She herself didn’t think she had any “useful” qualities about her. Kin did no magic, and definitely wasn’t the fiercest fighter (though she did try very hard.) The only real thing she had to offer Orochimaru was her faithfulness to do whatever he said…
It wasn’t a great resume if she had to write it out. Inwardly she frowned, wondering if she could somehow better herself. Maybe she could learn some kind of magic, or take on a new weapon? Kimimaro seemed to have everything she had, and then everything else she didn’t have. Kin had learned long ago not to compare herself with others, but standing here talking with this man made her do just that; compare. She had nothing to offer when it came down to it, the only thing she’d accomplished in the last year was save Orochimaru from a bomb of sorts by diving in front and being hit with the brunt of the blow. What an accomplishment, really… she needed a medal or something!
“That’s a long time,” she stated as her dark eyes rose to meet his lighter ones. “How long have you been,” she paused but then went on: “sick?”
Kimimaro’s eyes narrowed. Only moments ago they had been complete strangers, and she was already prying into that! Had she wanted to know, she could have asked any number of people… ever since his “condition” had been discovered (six months ago, as it were) it had filtered around the castle gossip vine. He could always sense people whispering about it as he passed, speculating over how serious it was, how much longer he would live, and who might become the new leader of the Sound Five if and when he died. But no one had possessed the gall to ask him about it to his face… until now.
Tightening his grip on the bone sword, Kimimaro turned his back to Kin. “I believe I’ve trained enough for today.”
Kin looked down as she thought he was thinking it over, but then he spoke he was going to leave. Snapping her head up she sighed and knew she shouldn’t bother him, but she needed someone to talk to… and help.
“Wait.” She called out to him, her hand reaching out and just inches from his arm before falling back to her side. “I- I’m sorry…” The black haired youth said slowly as she carefully moved around him to look up into his face. “I didn’t mean to be rude.” Kin started and then further explained, “I don’t get told much in all honesty. If I do, I’m last because I’m in my room or outside training and no one wants to find me. Dosu and Zaku always know information well ahead of me, and only the other day I was the second to know something.” She elaborated, her words languid as she took her time to choose her words.
“Don’t go.” Her head shook, hair swinging behind her in a serpentine motion. “If anything, I should be the one leaving.” Voice filled with honesty and a stern tone that sounded as if she were fighting back another choice of words. “I only came to get better, but it was pointless anyway.”
A quiet, mirthless chuckle escaped from between Kimimaro’s lips. This girl was upset because everyone else knew something that she didn’t, something that was none of her business to begin with? “Perhaps you might improve,” he replied, not turning around, “if you spent more time on training, and less on petty gossip.”
Kin stared up into his face with a sudden bold desire. Her expression was fierce and hard, an extreme she’d had not nearly enough. If she could force out the emotion, she’d be stronger and better, but she couldn’t and didn’t even know she was in that void currently.
“Help me.” She said with a solid voice. “The boys are too busy, and Orochimaru-sama can’t be bothered.” Stated Kin with a smirk. “But you, you’re already here.”
Kimimaro kaughed again, this time with amusement. “And what makes you think that I can be bothered?”
Kin smirked up to him, showing her white teeth as she did so. “Come on.” She said as she took a step closer, not that she could “get into his face” but she certainly could try. “What do you have better to do? Sit in your room waiting for… what?” Kin wasn’t sure she should say “what”, there were various what’s that could come about. Medicine, pain, boredom, death…
“I need your help anyway. Just one hour, that’s all.”
The older man smirked, amused at the girl’s persistence. “I have many things to do other than attempt to teach you things which you are incapable of learning.”
And with that, Kimimaro turned and walked back to his room.