The Park's the Place to Be [Open]

The wind blew gently, rustling the leaves and smaller branches that obscured her form from view. The Rakuenkage was visiting the park; though it would take some time for anyone to figure it out, surely – at least those who didn't know her well enough. She was situated high up in one of the taller trees, positioned on a branch that was thick enough to easily support her weight, while allowing her to remain surrounded by enough of the foliage to keep herself mostly hidden. She was seated with her legs resting on the actual branch and her back against the trees strong and thick trunk. Unlike Rakuenkage's past Temaki was not dressed as a kage normally was: the robes and the hat bothered her, they separated her from her people when she didn't want that.

So, Temaki was dressed today as she so often was when she could escape the hat and robes: a pink bikini styled top with black straps that connected both behind her neck and behind her back. A pair of black shorts accompanied this, as well as stockings that went well past her knees on their way up her thighs; pink in color with a argyle pattern. Finally, her feet were planted firmly in black boots that went halfway up her shins. Her hair, as usual, was blue, in twin braids, and went nearly down to her ankles: though at the moment her hair was pooled on her lap.

She had a book in front of her, a worn paperback that had obviously seen a lot of use and a lot of love; it laid nearly flat on her lap on top of her hair. This was her idea of a day off: she had been doing a lot recently with everything she had been handling. Not only had she had her own duties to attend to as Hinowa's Kage, but she also had been and still was playing host to a high ranking official from another village, not including the two powerful beasts she had had to recently deal with nearly back to back. Yes, she deserved this break, and to hell with anyone who thought differently.

So, she had chosen this well liked park, in an area that would allow her to watch until she felt the need to reveal herself. Blast, her orange and red furred wolf who by all rights was the size of an average horse, was sprawled comfortably at the base of the tree trunk. Blast's eyes were closed, though whether or not he was sleeping or not was left to be seen.

Temaki flipped a page in her book, moving on to the next as she read while waiting for something or someone to come by and catch her attention.

"You're a dead fuck! You hear me?? A DEAD FUCK!!"

"I heard you the first time..."

Voices heard but unseen. People ran by the park, scared, with frightened looks on their faces, trying to get away from the violent situation brewing. Obviously, someone out of view was about to fight.

"What's happening?" asked a pedestrian.

"It's that yellow eyed kid," said another. "You know, the one who's mom went out on that mission to stop the assassination attempt on the Rakuenkage's family? The one who was raped and tortured all those years? Well her kid's been all around the village lately helping people. Kinzoku, I think his name is..."

"Really? I heard about that. I honestly thought that kid would turn out bad with what happened to him. He doesn't have any family or anything, right?"

"Yeah. Seems like he's turned over a new leaf after all those people he killed. The kids around here love him, taken to him like a mascot. Yesterday he burned down a drug house, got rid of all of the dealers. Some of them are still around it seems, and they ain't taking kindly to what he did...."

The sounds of blows being delivered came next, and of course, the shrill of female screams. Several bodies all went flying through the air to land and roll by. Several moments passed before another individual went walking slowly by. He was wearing a red top with yellow trim; the collar big enough to hide most of his face from view, except for a pair of piercing yellow eyes that was hard for most to forget once they saw them. He wore black knee length pants, Black sandals and black fingerless gloves.

Kinzoku had skin the color of chocolate with black frizzy hair that resembled a worn out Brillo pad. He was scarred and somewhat dirty indicating that he'd been training. His arms and legs were now more muscular than they ordinarily were. Because he'd taught himself how to manipulate Raiton, occasionally streams of blue electricity popped and fizzled around him as he walked toward his assailants, made up of drug dealers and bullies of Artemis, his former squad mate.

All of them ran up on Kinzoku, and all of them were felled with one hit, sent rolling across the pavement, or up in the air to land somewhere at random with a loud yelp. People standing around wondered how he got so strong, but one with a good eye could notice that his hands were covered in what looked to be a metal substance. The last one was delivered a helping of rapid kicks that took him airborne, and Kinzoku with him. An axe kick to his left shoulder - shattering his collar bone, sent him crashing back to the ground to flop soundly onto his chest, creating a dust cloud and trembling the ground somewhat. Kinzoku landed next to him. The entire time, he had no expression on his face, and simply blinked those creepy yellow eyes slowly.

"I thought you guys would have made this more exciting," he said calmly, dusting off his top. "I guess not..."

The paperwork was complete, Fa Mulan had been cleared medically, and given the proper shots. All in all her new little monkey friend was good to go. It was definitely a learning experience of course: they had to learn each others little personality quirks and traits; they had to learn how to work together. On top of that Artemis had to learn all she could about her new little companion: monkey's needed a lot of care, and she had every intention of taking the best care possible of Fa Mulan. Of course, Karukaya sensei was helping in more ways then one. Not only was she staying with him due to issues with Fa Mulan and her not working out so well at home, but it was also nice to have someone she could constantly go to with questions – someone who could help her when she was stumped and point her into the right direction.

Which, was exactly why the pair were in the middle of the park to begin with. Artemis had got her hands on a new book that was completely dedicated to monkeys. She had spread out a blanket and had even brought a small picnic of snacks and fruit and plenty of natural juices and water. She was situated laying down on her back, with her knees bent and the bottoms of her currently bare feet resting against the blanket. The book was being held with both of her hands, and her attention was focused on it.

Nearby her, poking at a beetle that was crawling across a blade of grass, was her new monkey companion: Fa Mulan. She stuck out of course; not just because she was a monkey but because she was an albino monkey – that led to her fur being a whitish color with the smallest tint of blue in it. Fa Mulan snatched a piece of fruit out of a nearby bowl, shoving it into her mouth as she leaned forward to get a closer look at the beetle.

Artemis was just turning to a new page in her book – nowhere near even half finished with it – when the commotion of what clearly sounded like a fight reached her ears. Frowning she tilted her head, looking in the direction it was coming from. What in the world was going on now?

Temaki glanced over sideways, able to see clearly through the leaves that kept her nice and hidden from view. She saw in the distance, a little ways away, a blanket laid out with a female laying down on it. The female had a book in her hand much like Temaki did and seemed to be enjoying a picnic. Sure enough there was a creature, which from where she was looked like some sort of rare colored monkey or chimp, enjoying a piece of fruit while staring at something that Temaki couldn't see due to her location.

She then glanced downwards and to the possibly sleeping form of Blast. Just as she was about to open her mouth and speak to her fuzzy half the sound of violence reached her ears. A frown instantly formed on her face: she was hoping for a peaceful and quiet day off, not to end up having to work anyway. She closed her book and shifted, listening carefully to pin point the direct location of this fight. Given her height, and her perception, she spotted Kinzoku – her newly ranked up Chuunin. He looked like he had been training which was good to see; she was glad to know that her people continued to push themselves forward and to better themselves – it was what would help them all survive as a village long into the future.

From the sound of things, and what she could pick up though, he was involved in whatever had gone down. Another glance down showed her that Blast was awake, alert, and his ears were perked. He was still laying down but he was obviously paying very close attention. Temaki shifted on her branch so that her legs were hanging over the side and she was no longer leaning against the trunk, however she didn't jump down. For now she would watch, watch and wait to see if she had to step in or not. She had heard reports of bullies and thugs roaming around recently, and she wasn't going to yell at someone for defending themselves if that was indeed what had been going down...

"Fuck yew guise, I gotta do everytheng," came the voice of someone approaching. "Yew guise can't beet up one pewny yella eyed freek? The fuck outta the way..."

The ground shook with each of his steps. Possibly the largest guy Kinzoku had ever seen approached, wearing a vest with no shirt underneath, exposing a massive gut. He had on khaki pants and sandals. Wearing a pair of tinted glasses, he was bald. His arms and legs were ripped with muscles, resembling tree trunks.

Kinzoku stood his ground, keeping his plain look. Half closed eyes blinked at this individual, even with the fact that Kinzoku, standing 6 feet himself and by no means short, only came up to the guy's chest.

He cracked his large knuckles. Both hands were large enough to grab Kinzoku's head and crush it like a grape. "So yer the one who burned down the drug spot, eh? Got any idea how much that cost us, freak? DO YA?"

"...No," was Kinzoku's response, his hands now in his pants pockets as he glanced up at the mountain of a man. "But, you must have been a reeeally big baby. How did your mother push you out? Where the hell did you come from anyway?"

"What the fuck does it matter you freek! I'm gonna squash you!" He grabbed at Kinzoku with that huge left hand. Kinzoku went low, making a fist with his left hand. The fist turned into pig iron as he moved forward, and Kinzoku drove the fist deep into that massive gut, crating a sound that resembled a drum with water in it. An "OOOGH" sound came from his mouth and throat; the force of the blow making the big man bend forward. Another fist came from below, the right, smashing into his jaw. The big man was knocked completely off of his feet and went backwards. He crashed onto his back with a great THUD and a violent tremble of the ground.

The pig iron shed from his hands like dust while he clasped his hands together, looking toward the big man with his plain, sleepy-like expression. "Drug dealing in Hinowa is over with..." said Kinzoku, putting his hands back into his pockets, the occasional bolt of electricity popping around him, or moving up and down his arms. "But, you guys feel free to attack me whenever you want. I have all day and night to play..."

It took Artemis several moments to really pin point where all the ruckus was coming from. In the end she ended up lifting herself up a bit off of the ground; still laying down but with the top half of her body propped up on one arm. She could see then that Kinzoku – someone who had helped her to deal with a group of bullies before, and her old teammate to boot – was paired up against what had to be the largest person she had ever seen: and that was saying something considering that the poacher who had given her a sound ass beating over the monkey - before Karukaya sensei had shown up that was - was rather large himself.

Out of the corner of Artemis' eye she noticed an orange and red ball of fur beginning to move and shift as if it too were paying attention. She recognized the animal as a wolf, though it looked far larger then any she had saw before, and the coloring was also a bit strange. If she hadn't known better she would have sworn the thing looked like it was on fire.

She didn't pay much attention to the wolf though, as she kept her main focus on the fight that was beginning to take place, and which was over as fast as it began. Kinzoku got the big guy down on the ground relatively easy. ”Whoa...”

And then her attention was shifting instantly as Fa Mulan began to screech loudly: she was still iffy around violence and it was beginning to show. Artemis dropped her book on the other side of her and then reached forward, picking up the monkey around the middle gently while also sitting up in one movement. She placed the monkey on her lap which seemed to satisfy the whitish-blue creature, before she picked another piece of fruit out of one of the plastic bowls and handed it to her. The monkey instantly shoved it into her mouth and began to chew.

Artemis then, now that Fa Mulan was calm again, allowed her attention to shift over to Kinzoku... Why were these guys fucking with him so hard?

Right. She was going to have to at least go down and see what this was all about. Sighing to herself Temaki placed both of her hands down on the sides of her and hoisted her butt up and off of the branch. She then swung herself forward and let go of the branch. She fell, feet first, towards the ground where she landed in a crouched position, having easily avoided landing on Blast. The wolf looked to her with a bored expression on her face, and Temaki stood. ”Come on, let's go do the Kage thing...”, she said softly to her orange and red furred companion.

Blast got to his feet and followed Temaki as the pair walked over to Kinzoku and the much larger man who was now on the ground. As she moved she glanced over to Artemis and the albino creature with her: yeah, definitely a monkey. She recognized the girl as being her students student, and figured that the monkey was the one she had heard about too – the girl had taken on a poacher who had once been a high ranking Chuunin – she had got her ass beaten something fierce but she hadn't given in and told the bastards where the monkey was hidden. It was something she needed to speak to her about, but perhaps she needed to handle this stuff with Kinzoku first.

As she got close enough she recognized the downed man and everything clicked. Plenty of paperwork passed her desk each day, but she remembered this. Kinzoku had been working diligently and had gotten rid of a serious issue dealing with these clowns. ”Oh, isn't this interesting? How many times does Kinzoku here have to hand you guys your asses before you realize that dealing drugs in my village isn't going to happen?” Naturally feral features become more pronounced at her anger towards the large fallen man. The Rakuenkage was known for her nasty temper after all, and her explosive way of handling matters.

Then her attention focused on Kinzoku and her gaze softened somewhat. ”I was planning on calling you to my office, but since we're both here: I wanted to tell you good work on handling that situation... scum like that” she jerked her head towards the fallen man ”deserve to be taken out with the trash.”

For the first time, those yellow eyes began to take in the scene around him other than being focused on mad assholes. There was a girl with what looked to be a monkey. She'd changed her looks around some, but he recognized her to be Artemis, the girl he'd helped with bullying a few days ago, and his former squad mate in a team that didn't really get the chance to get up off the ground. Maybe they could have gotten closer, but for some reason Kinzoku felt like that would have been a bad idea.

"F...Fucking... freek..." mumbled the big man, struggling to pull himself to his feet. "If... we can't get you... we'll... just go after your family!"

Kinzoku blinked his eyes slowly. "Family?" he asked. "What's that? I don't have one of those. I never had one of those." He freely admitted this with an almost sarcastic tone. "But hey! If you happen to find any, be sure and let ME know too, yeah?" The big man was pulling himself slowly away from the scene, mumbling obscenities and cursing under his breath.

It was around this time that the second female approached and said what she said. A female with an elaborate dress code and what would be considered a nice rack. Though Kinzoku's plain expression didn't change any. She was accompanied by the biggest dog he'd ever seen, who had to be strong, judging from what he'd seen from Karukaya and his kangaroo Coen. Kinzoku didn't have any special sensory abilities or anything of the like, but he could feel an immense power radiating from whoever she was. "Realize that dealing drugs in my village isn't going to happen," she said.

So it appeared that The Metal Catastrophe had finally crossed paths with the Rakuenkage, Temaki. This was her... a part of the family that his mother and her team went through so much to protect. He started to look somewhat grim. Kinzoku didn't blame Temaki personally, since she had to be a small child in the time that his mother's team was slaughtered and she kidnapped, he just dreaded this day. To face one of the people his mother held out through years of torture to keep their existence a secret; torture that turned his mother into a withdrawn shell of herself, an invalid who dropped Kinzoku at his now deceased grandparents one day and simply disappeared.

Kinzoku didn't stare for long, and turned his gaze back to the big man pulling himself away from the scene. "...Wasn't doing it for praise, or thanks" He replied, his hands having slid back into his pants pockets. "All part of training... Not like I have anything else going on, being nobody and all. Well, there's always becoming a super villain or something like that, but I heard the pay is lousy..."

He was finding being sarcastic better than being a silent mute, even with things as tragic as having no family, friends or known living relatives. His only companion through the years had been his gourd, and the days without it were becoming lonesome. Luckily he was getting closer to having it back in his possession...

Artemis remained where she had been seated, her albino monkey on her lap. She reached over and brought over the plastic bowl of fruit, ensuring it was easier for the monkey to reach. Artemis didn't mind violence – it was part of a shinobi's life after all – but she didn't trust leaving Fa Mulan behind long enough to go investigate. She also wasn't about to bring the monkey closer in case that big guy got up: they were still working on her responses to larger people due to the poacher.

So, the duo remained where they were, simply watching as the Rakuenkage and her wolf wandered over to Kinzoku.

As Artemis kept watching the monkey in her lap picked up her book, held it upside down, and pretened to begin reading it where she had left off...

A wave of her hand had two Jounin ranked shinobi showing up; the big guy wasn't going to just be allowed to get up and leave. Oh no, his ass was going to jail for an awfully long time. Once that situation was taken care of she turned her attention back onto Kinzoku, curious as to his comment. A thoughtful expression spread across the females face before she just shook her head, ”Everyone in my village is someone Kinzoku; we just have all different parts to play. But at the end of the day it takes everyone to make it work.”

She then shifted her attention to Blast and scratched him at the top of the ears for a moment. ”Come on, big guy. Our breaks over; we've got some paperwork to do.”

She then glanced back to Kinzoku and grinned a bit. ”Super villains don't get the good costumes... the heroes do.” And then the wolf and Temaki were gone, moving with speed rarely seen and all but disappearing...

[Thread Exit]

"....."

He wondered if she even knew who he was, or what had happened. It didn't seem like it, and it didn't matter much. She said he was somebody, but there would be no amount of convincing that would have him thinking that. Kinzoku considered himself waste. A mistake that wasn't even supposed to exist.

She said she was leaving, and something about heroes and costumes. Kinzoku didn't consider himself a hero either, though there were a bunch of kids around the village that would have said otherwise, among many others. Yet he didn't do what he did because he thought of himself as noble, or for the fame and admiration of the villagers. Kinzoku only wanted strength.

Then she was gone. Would he see her again? Kinzoku had no idea, and honestly didn't much care. His mind was focused only on his gourd, and getting stronger. Once it was back in his possession and he had the proper skills to wield it, then he would figure out his next move, be it remaining here, or moving on elsewhere.

Everyone was someone, huh? Sure, whatever... Slowly did he start walking, heading off in some random direction, thinking of what next to do in his training...

/Exit/

WC: 1,660 total

Artemis watched as the situation began to disperse itself: two high ranking looking shinobi arrived and hauled the giant man away. Then the Rakuenkage was next to leave along with the orange and red furred dog. Following this Kinzoku left too. With everyone dispersing the drama did as well, allowing the park to become peaceful and quiet once more. As things relaxed Fa Mulan also did, though she stayed for the moment within Art's lap.

Artemis allowed it for now; she knew she couldn't baby Fa Mulan forever if she was going to be working with her on missions and the like. However, she also knew that there had to be a bond of trust established between the pair of them, and allowing the monkey to know that she was safe and sound with Artemis would go long ways in the future when they really had to put their trust in each other.

Fa Mulan peaked over the still upside down book, and pointed towards where the commotion had been going on at before looking up at Art. Art looked down at her and shrugged. ”I'm not really sure what that was all about, but they're done now. So you don't have to worry about anything.” The albino monkey stared at her for a moment longer before picking up a piece of fruit and shoving it into her own mouth. Artemis laughed softly and picked up a piece of fruit, taking a bit out of it herself.

”I really should finish that book, it'll teach me all about you.” The monkey suddenly flipped several pages, curious about the book only to come to a page with a picture of a monkey and point to it while screeching excitedly.

Artemis was in the midst of picking up another piece of fruit from her own bowl and bringing it to her mouth when someone approached and then crouched down. She grinned a bit at the comment and nodded. ”Honestly, before I found her neither had I.” Artemis then shifted her attention down to Fa Mulan and poked her gently on the ear with her free hand – the other still holding the piece of fruit. ”Are you going to say hello, Fa Mulan?” She had every intention of getting Fa Mulan as comfortable with socializing as possible, and now was a great chance to do just that.

Fa Mulan looked up at her for a moment and then to the masked stranger. Quite clearly the monkey spoke, ”'Ello human.” Well, at least she wasn't pronouncing it 'hooman' anymore, so that was definitely a bonus. Fa Mulan then grabbed another piece of fruit out of the bowl and shoved it in her mouth, chewing it while returning to staring at the monkey in the book.

Artemis simply chuckled and shook her head slightly; the silly monkey was definitely silly. She then shifted her attention fully onto the masked individual, figuring she should be polite. ”I'm Artemis by the way.”

Artemis watched the masked individual sit down and then listened to the question. It caused her to pause and think: in truth the journey to finding her albino companion was anything but easy. However, she saw no issue in revealing what had happened: surely enough civilians roaming the village had both heard and saw the commotion, so the rumors would spread anyway. She looked down at Fa Mulan and handed her another bowl of fruit as she finished off her current; it would keep her occupied during the trip down memory lane.

”Eh, it's not really as simple as it sounds, no. I happened across her after she escaped the people who had her in the market: I realized they were poachers. I knew nothing good would come from that, so I gained her trust and hid her.” She glanced down at Fa Mulan, checking to see how the monkey was handling the story only to find her totally focused on the book, flipping through pages to find another picture of a monkey.

”Anyway... Their boss came along though and didn't like the idea of having lost his trophy so yeah... it got kind of nasty. But, my sensei showed up and things turned around for the better.. Thankfully she hadn't been injured by them; and she was surprisingly healthy.” She grinned a bit and looked down at the monkey who was now stuffing fruit into her mouth again. "I didn't realize until afterward how special she was..."

Artemis couldn't help but agree with his statement about poachers; it was after all the entire reasoning for her stepping in and taking the ass beating that had been given to her up until her sensei had arrived and saved the day – they hadn't liked her refusing them the knowledge of the monkey's location after all. ”Yes they are. I fully understanding hunting for food, or even for tools. But to kill something for the pure sport of it? It goes against everything I stand for.”

”Monkey not food!” Fa Mulan suddenly said; looking right up at Artemis as she spoke. Artemis smiled and nodded in agreement. ”No, no you're not. You're a friend.”

”Friend. Friend!” Fa Mulan repeated, suddenly bouncing in place on Artemis' lap. Artemis couldn't help but laugh fully. Fa Mulan had a very adorable side to her, and it showed often, but each time it was like a fresh and new experience: an enjoyable one.

Artemis then turned her attention back on Sasayaki and smiled. ”A little less then a week now. But, she learns fast. Of course, that means I have to learn even faster about her.”, she answered, not mind the questions at all. ”Thankfully, Karukaya sensei has been helping me out. Otherwise I think I'd be rather lost.”

”Not lost. In park, Art Art!”, Fa Mulan said, looking up at her in the midst of putting more fruit into her mouth.

Artemis looked down at the monkey and smiled gently. ”Aye, but lost has many different meanings. In this case I meant I'd be less then prepared.” The monkey, seeming satisfied with this answer shoved the piece of fruit in her mouth and chewed it up.

”Aye, I agree. When I first saw Fa Mulan I noticed something in her eyes that told me she was even smarter then the average monkey. With a bit more training she'll be well on her way...” Fa Mulan nodded in agreement while shoving more fruit into her mouth; this time two pieces instead of one – she was picking out the kiwi currently and ignoring the rest. Kiwi was one of her favorite foods and therefore Artemis had ensured to add more then enough to the bowls of fruit she had prepared befor they left.

”I'm lucky to have a sensei like the one I have. I'm only doing so well because of his help; otherwise I'm pretty sure I'd be a lot more lost then I am when it comes to dealing with Fa Mulan. Even still, I know I've got a long way to go.”

”My human teach good.” Fa Mulan managed to get out in between shoving pieces of fruit into her mouth and chewing them up. Artemis just chuckled a bit.[/color][/color]