After School

Dust frowned. If she was real, she'd already alienated her, by the looks of it. If she was fake, now they definitely knew. "If you say so, Seresana. I don't think ignoring me is the way to build trust, but if you say so." She sighs, biting into her ice cream again. Wanted to be her friend... She tried to make eye contact to read her emotions, but was unable due to her rapidly turning to the road. She knew. She definitely knew, and she needed to run. Maybe she could fake being ill? No, she had no way of making herself vomit, or faking a fever. She was already naturally pale, meaning that she couldn't try to fake that. If she outright collapsed, she'd be taken back to the nurse's office, where they'd find out nothing was actually wrong... or maybe they'd try to kill her then and there. Either way, she would be in even deeper shit than before, and she was already neck-deep, so it seems.

"To answer your question... I don't really know. A lot of the foods I had were just the same thing, over and over again... I guess I like noddles. Why do you ask?" More opportunities for poison... This was the issue. Spies and friends ask the same questions sometimes. It makes discovering them all the more difficult...

Word count: 228, total 2592

"Because now I know where we can go for an after swim snack if you'd like. I know of a couple noodle stands around the town, but there's one that always seemed to stand out a bit as one of the better ones even though it's just a road side stand and not in a fancy building or anything," Seresana added happily while glancing back over her shoulder. "And I won't be ignoring you, not sure how you got to that conclusion. If you want to say something, you can go ahead and say it, I promise I won't laugh or anything. I'll be paying but only the utmost attention!" Seresana proclaimed proudly and happily. "Hmm... Actually, that raises a point," Seresana suddenly said as she slowed down and stopped in her tracks before turning about and looking right at Dust with a determined expression. "Dust, what would I have to do to earn your trust and be your friend?" Seresana just straight up asked. Her expression was unwavering, and even though the statement was almost comically blunt, there was a seriousness to her expression that would blatantly speak of the sincerity of the statement. Though a grin crept onto her face rather soon afterwards and she was all to quickly smiling again in her usual manner.

Word Count: 218
Total: 3,577

Dust somehow goes even paler. Turns out she could. "I... I have to go," she mumbled, turning around and running back the way they came. No. She would not tell this girl anything. It's too dangerous. Any normal person wouldn't be this interested in a new kid on the first bloody day. Why had she bothered? She needed to tell the Hyuga that she is not to be trifled with. She could try to fight, but her head could very well explode as a result of that. Damn this curse. Damn it to hell. She would have rather never been born than be afflicted with this infernal clan. If she saw a definite head member, one of the two of them were going to die.

If Sena gave chase, she tried to speed up. However, if she continued for too long, she would likely get lost. She had forgotten her ice cream altogether, despite still holding it tightly. She was used to holding onto things such as blades while running, after all.

Word count: 171, total 2763

Seresana could have caught up to Dust, she could have easily outran Dust and caught her, but something kept her. Seresana stood there in the street, hand half raised after Dust, but she didn't take a single step in her direction. This had never happened to her before and the sheer shock of it actually threw her for enough of a loop that she wasn't certain how to deal with it. She'd tried to be friendly, wanting to make Dust feel welcomed despite being the new girl, and all she'd seemingly managed to do was scare her and possibly make Dust not want to be her friend. Her lips pursed together and she fought back the coming frown but still didn't take any steps towards Dust's fleeting form. Seresana glumly turned about, away from Dust and slowly began to walk away. She took about three steps, looked back over her shoulder to once more take a glance at Dust's fleeting form. "I guess I'll see you later then," Seresana said before walking over to the edge of the street and sitting down on a convenient nearby bench. That way, should Dust come back, she'd be easy to find, but also Seresana needed some time to think about what went wrong and where she screwed up.

Word Count: 216
Total: 3,793

Running. That was all she did for a while. She didn't know where she was going or when she eventually stopped. She hadn't bothered to look into the sky before she ran to see the time. She found herself in an unfamiliar part of town, with Sena nowhere in sight.

Maybe that was good. There was no way they could find her now unless they were extremely clever bastards about it with invisibility or something. Even if they did, they know that she wasn't a threat now. She winced as another thought hit her. That also meant she was weak. She was unable to stay and face adversity. Perhaps running away was a bad idea.... What if they actually did want her to attack? She had considered knocking the girl out and then fleeing, but again, if she was wrong... It would not end well. She'd be expelled, sent back to her family, and probably executed.

She sat down on a bench, a bit nauseous from the exertion... Oh, shit. she was actually going to throw up. She stumbled over to a public garbage can, and vomited nothing but bile into it. She forgot she hadn't eaten anything but ice cream... Which she seemed to have dropped a bit ago.

...Shit. That means they would have an easier time locating her, especailly if it was dripping. She stepped away from the garbage can, wiping her mouth with an arm. She didn't have the energy to keep running. She staggered over to the park bench, sitting down on it. She placed her elbows on her knees, supporting her head with her hands. She had no idea where the academy was... And there were no maps she could see anywhere. She didn't see any city-owned buildings where she could get one, either. It was getting dark by this point... She needed to find a place to sleep.

She kept wandering the streets, looking for a bridge she could sleep under a bridge or something. She had slept in worse places... But she couldn't find anywhere safe.

Word count: 342, total 3105

Seresana was also sitting for a while, just staring at the ground and contemplating, going over the interactions she'd had with Dust and what they'd done. She was lost to these thoughts for some time until the shadow from a passing by villager drew her mind back into reality. Curiously, she glanced up to the sky and noted that the sun was already getting low. And then something that Dust had said earlier made Seresana's eyes go wide with shock as connections were made. Dust was newer to the area, she hadn't gotten a chance to really explore the village all that much and she didn't know her way around here. There would be only a chance she knew where she would be and that already slim chance would diminish to almost nothing with the setting sun. That meant that here soon Dust, who was already shy and nervous, would be lost in an unfamiliar part of the village.

Seresana sprung up from the bench she'd been sitting on and turned towards the direction she'd seen Dust go. She started running down the street, but only made it to the first intersection before she had to stop and look around since she didn't know if Dust had made a turn or not. She was about to just pick a direction at random when she noticed a light green colored drop of liquid on the ground. Curious, Seresana went over to it and after touching it with a finger and then bringing it to her nose to give the mystery substance a sniff, Seresana found it to smell like mint. Realizing that it could likely be from Dust's ice cream, Seresana began following the scattered trail of melted ice cream down streets and into the village. Unfortunately, the trail ended when Seresana found a discarded and dropped ice cream treat just resting on the ground. Seresana glanced around the area but hesitated about calling out her name for reminders of how Dust had looked at her when she ran off.

Seresana wandered down the street a bit farther going in the same direction that the trail had ended and then came up with another idea. Tossing together a few quick handsigns, Seresana performed her levitation jutsu and quickly sprung into the air. Flying up over the street and above the buildings, Seresana began to look about for Dust, still hesitating on calling out her name until her gaze finally found the figure she'd been searching for. Lowering herself back down to the ground quickly, Seresana canceled out the levitation jutsu and fell the last few feet to land a few feet in front of Dust. "There you are Dust, do you need some directions to get back home?"

Word Count: 456
Total: 4,250

While Sena was searching, Dust had sat on the bench she was on earlier, only somewhat aware of her surroundings. Her mind was a maelstrom of different thoughts, from worry that she had upset a little girl to fear that they'd one day found her to simple regret that she had gotten lost instead of trying to retrace her steps. Her emotions flickered back and forth quickly, from wry amusement about her circumstances to nearly overwhelming fear that she'd gone too far to a feeling of almost triumph that she had escaped a potentially life threatening situation. However, her thoughts weren't as clear as she'd like them to be. She was still exhausted, and her stomach hurt. She wished she had a glass of water to get this horrible taste out of her mouth... But she didn't have one. She didn't see any stores that would sell them nearby either. Just clothing and... interesting book stores.

However, she was startled out of her muddled thinking by that girl landing in front of her abruptly. She thought she heard someone calling something earlier, but she hadn't been able to pay attention. Her head jerked upwards immediately, but the fatigue soon returned. She looked up at Sena, looking extremely dazed. "Just do it already," she said quietly, opening her bag quickly and carefully. rummaging around in it for something. Truth be told, she was looking for one of her kunai so that Sena could kill her cleanly. She always kept them in case shit hit the fan... it seemed that it did, but not in the way she thought it would. She finally found one, taking it out, reversing it slowly, and holding it by the blade. She extended a shaky arm to offer it to Sena.

Word count: 295, total 3400

Seresana was glad to have found Dust, but her smile was short lived as one look at the down girl made her worry that Dust might have been sick. "What are you talking about Dust?" Seresana had to ask when Dust told her to do it, and when she pulled out the kunai knife and held the handle out to her, Seresana visibly recoiled, her foot taking a half step back. "D-Dust, for some reason, I don't think you're talking about going ahead and starting the training, you even look halfway sick. Look, I'm not sure what I did to get you to not like me, but if you want I can make sure you get back to the Hyuga's residential districts. My dad's a handyman and he's done repairs for the Hyuga's before, he's even taken me with him a couple times on deliveries so I know how to get there. Though if you're feeling sick, I think the hospital may be closer," Seresana said somewhat hesitantly as she took a cautious step forward, her expression full of worry, concern, and sorrow.

Word Count: 183
Total: 4,433

Dust sighs, standing up and extending her arm further. A joint in it popped loudly. It seemed that she had been sitting there for a while. "Come on. Nobody's fooling anyone here. Just take the kunai and finish it. What you just said confirms that you work for them." Dust didn't care at this point. There was no way she was getting away again, and both of the two girls knew it with how Dust was looking. Her legs were shaking; it was unlikely she could stand for very long. "Don't you want to? It would save both of us so much trouble..." She laughed wryly. However, doubt began to flicker at the back of her mind. What if she really was just an innocent little girl who that Dust just asked to kill her? What if she gets put in a psych ward? The conditions there are horrible...

Word count: 151, total 3551

Seresana's gaze continued to jump between the girl and the offered weapon, disbelief and shock dominating her features as she tried to actually figure out what Dust was truly wanting her to do. "Dust, I don't know where this is coming from or what you think I'm going to do," Sena said as she took the kunai knife from Dust, held it just for a second, and then tossed it into the ground a short distance from them both. "All I wanted to do was be nice and cheer you up since you seemed to be having such a hard first day. I saw you crying in the back of the classroom, and just wanted to help. Now you look sick, and all I've managed to do was seemingly make you feel worse," Seresana said as she let her expression droop. "So if you want, I can help you get home or to a hospital and then I'll leave you alone from now on," Seresana offered weakly but rather unenthusiastic.

Word Count: 171
Total: 4,604

Dust sighed, pausing for a few moments. She bent down, picking up the kunai again. "Why are you making this so... Never mind. I don't trust you, Sena. That's all. I think you're an agent of the Hyuga, sent here to observe and possibly test me. I don't know if they simply employed you, you're a main house member, or if you are a branch house member who has no other choice." She really had terrorised a little girl. This was a weird girl, though... She's far more powerful than she should be. "I wanted you to kill me. Do you really not get that yet?" She sat back down on the bench, the throwing knife next to her. "I don't want to be at this damn academy. I really just want to disappear... Why won't you at least give me that mercy?" It was over... Word would spread, and she'd be alienated anyway. Maybe she should just do the job herself... Not in front of the girl, though. That would be cruel. She looked into Sena's eyes, trying to read the other girl's emotions.

Word count: 186, total 3737

Seresana didn't respond for a little bit. She just silently stood there and listened to Dust as she explained what she'd thought and wanted Seresana to do, and as she did Seresana's expression darkened. When Dust would look back up, she would see a sad face, with teeth grit as she almost seemed to try and fight off the tears. The emotions Dust could read from Seresana's eyes were much the same, a rather extreme sadness coupled with pity, a lingering fear, and a gentleness that eventually proved stronger than all the other present emotions and eventually forced a smile onto her features. Seresana then walked the couple steps over to Dust's side, sat down on the bench next to her, on the side opposite of the kunai knife, and wrapped her arms around her.

"I'm sorry I scared you Dust, but I can assure you that I'm not working for the Hyuga's or know why they'd even want to test you, let alone kill you," Seresana said as she held onto the other girl. "And I'm sorry but I can't kill you, after all you are my friend."

Word Count: 190
Total: 4,794

Yep. She just terrified a little girl. Wonderful. Her dad probably has at least some influence. Should she ask Sena to just leave her alone? Probably, but if she refuses, it's only gonna get worse. If the girl treated everyone like this, she must know a lot of people. And if she upsets the ringleader... She's going to be here for years, probably... assuming she lives to graduate. If she's targeted for that long...

"I really don't think I'm cut out for this academy, you know." Dust tried to move her arms. "I think I already mentioned that I was sent to this place out of my free will. I can't run, because I'd be tracked down. If I stay, I'm going to die. There is no possible way that this is going to end well." She paused to catch her breath. "The Hyuga are lunatics." She wiped off the makeup on her forehead, revealing the curse mark. "See this? If they don't like me, my head explodes." Her expression darkened further. "I'm little more than a slave to those bastards. I was told that it was unremovable, but I'm going to find a way to remove it one way or the other."

Word count: 202, total 3939

"I can see a way it'll end well," Seresana replied simply as she continued to hold onto Dust. "I'll protect you, I'll help you get strong so you can protect yourself as well. And maybe someday, I'll even be able to help you remove that curse mark," Seresana went on as she tried to comfort Dust, to prove that the future wasn't so bleak. "And you're no slave to me. You're Lin, Dust, and my friend," Seresana went on again before her grip slacked just enough so that she could lean back a bit and look at Dust before continuing. "Why don't we go back to my house for now. I've got some makeup or at least some cloth ties so you can cover that mark back up, and we can play that game of checkers then too," Seresana added before finally releasing Dust, standing up, and spinning about so that she was facing Dust again and once more holding out her hand in open invitation for the other youth to join her. If Dust were to look into her eyes and read her emotions, she would find Seresana to be calm, patient, comforting, concerned, and hopeful all at the same time despite the rather simple and almost plain expression she wore.

Word Count: 213
Total: 5,007

"You're... much younger than me. You never told me your age, but I don't think you can protect me, to be blunt," Dust said, glancing away. "Why does it matter if you don't control me? I still have a million and one swords hanging over my head, and there's not many ways I can stop that." Young people are so brave... her thoughts were muddled. She was still a bit dizzy. "Okay... I'll go with you anyway." she said slowly, taking the hand and getting up. Her grip was pretty weak, and she seemed to be making an effort just to hold on.

"Do you have any water?" she asked, the taste of vomit still in her mouth. She wished she had held onto the ice cream... At least then she'd have something to get the sickly sweet taste out of her mouth. This is gonna damage her teeth badly... That was probably the least of her concerns at the moment, though. She couldn't keep acting like this... She needed to find a way to shape up, or things were only going to get much worse. At least this girl was patient... others might not be. She doubted the teachers would be any source of comfort, either. Were they all like the Hyuga? Probably. The world can't be that diverse, can it?

Word count: 221, total 4160

"I'm 12, but just because I'm young doesn't mean I'm not strong," Seresana replied while jokingly flexing her right arm and resting her left hand on the bicep to showcase the small muscle that was there after helping Dust up off the bench. "Sorry though, I don't have any water on me, but there should be a convenience store nearby that we could stop at," Seresana added after looking around for a moment to see where they were and able to get to with ease. "Ah, yeah it's just around the corner there," Seresana said as she began to lead Dust down the street, though she was going slowly as the other girl still seemed pretty woozy and unsteady on her feet.

When they rounded the corner, the store came into view. A short one story building with large glass windows to allow people to see inside and the ware that the store sold. It was a fairly general purpose grocery store, but there were single drinks and sandwiches too. Seresana readily enough stepped into the building and made her way over to the area where the bottles of various drinks were on display and sale. "Go ahead and pick whatever you want Dust," Seresana said with a glance towards her.

Word Count: 211
Total: 5,218

She sighed. "I really shouldn't make you pay for this," she said, looking back at her. Stepping further into the building, Dust passed rows of various snack or otherwise prepackaged foods and drinks. She stopped for a moment to look at the alcohol, but passed those to get to the simpler drinks such as bottled tea and water. Just getting the smallest bottle of water possible for Sena's sake, she went up to the cashier. "You know, ma'am... You don't look so good. This one's free. I'll pay for it myself," the young man said. Dust blinked, obviously surprised. "Why... thank you sir. Are you sure?" she asked cautiously. "Positive," he responded. "You should go back home and get some rest. You look exhausted at the least." She nodded, quickly stepping back out of the store after mumbling a small "Thank you."

She had really overthought this whole place. It was just a town. Nothing more, nothing less. No traps, no assassins, no spies. It's just a little town that people from the academy visit. Nothing to get worked up over. She was safe. She was fine. Dust opened the bottle of water, downing half of it in one gulp. Some colour returned immediately. "Wow... water's good..." she said, straightening from a slouch she didn't know she had.

Word count: 217, total 4377

Seresana followed suit, though she paid for her drink easily enough, a bottle of tea, and then followed Dust right outside. She took a sip of her own bottle and then recapped it as Dust made her exclamation. "Mhmm, though I prefer tea," Seresana replied as she came to stand next to Dust. She noted how the girl seemed to almost renew with the new water, reinvigorating herself with nothing more than a drink. "So, do you still want directions back to the hyuga part of town, or would you still be up for that game of checkers?" Seresana asked then as she recalled the girls prior enthusiasm towards the game when she'd first mentioned it back at the school.

Word Count: 121
Total: 5,339

Dust frowned again. "What makes you think I'd want to go to the Hyuga part of town?" she asked sharply, cocking a brow. At least her energy was back. "I thought the earlier incident proved I want nothing to do with them..." she sighed, her expression returning to normal. Brief worries of it actually being an extremely clever trap surfaced, but she quickly brushed them aside. "I'm sorry for snapping at you," the girl said quickly. "I... I just don't like them very much, as you know..." She made her way back to the bench, sitting down on it. "Yeah... let's not do any training. I'm definitely not in the right frame of mind at the moment... How good at you at checkers?"

Word count: 123, total 4500

Seresana threw up her hands and waved them back and forth a little bit while smiling a bit. "Right, right sorry. It's just if you were feeling bad, I wasn't sure if you'd have wanted to go home and rest," Seresana explained before she dropped the none to serious display and went back to listening as Dust asked her question. "Well, I'm not bad at checkers," Seresana replied as she followed Dust over to the bench and sat down beside her. "Though it's a bit of a walk to get to my house and if we're going to get there and play some, we should probably get moving," she added then while standing back up with almost a bounce and turned about so she was smiling back at Dust again. She wasn't put off at all about Dust not wanting to do any training at the moment, there would be plenty of time for that in the following days anyways.

Word Count: 161
Total:5,500

She shrugs. "My family isn't even in this area. I don't actually have a place to sleep yet... haven't registered for a dorm or anything." She cocked a brow yet again as Sena sat next to her, but didn't say anything. "I used to play checkers whenever I could, but right now I'm a bit rusty... I haven't had the time for it lately. Doesn't mean you should go easy on me, though." She stood up, using one hand on the bench to aid her in doing so. She let out a small groan as she stood up. "Alright... You lead the way, obviously. I don't want to get lost yet again," she said, glancing at the area where Sena showed up after Dust ran away. "The convenience store guy will only give me so much free water," she said with a semi-obviously forced giggle. "Llllet's just get going," she said after a very small pause. "Mind if we just walk?" she asked.

Word count: 163, total 4663

"Hehe sure, we can just walk," Seresana replied as she turned to go down a street and begin leading them back to her home. It would be a long walk, but one they could still complete, and likely before the sun was too low in the sky Seresana reasoned with another glance to the already beginning to dim expanse of blue. Though it wouldn't be too long before the sun really started to set and the sky would go from that blue to the vibrant array of setting colors. "And wow, you're just starting at the academy and already trying to live on your own? Well, I guess I shouldn't be too surprised, you did say you really don't want to have to go back home. Hmmm... You'd probably have to get a job though, and even then it might be kind of rough. You might want to consider a roommate if you could think of anyone," Seresana suggested slightly out of concern, though to the best of her knowledge, there were a few of the other classmates who lived on their own and they managed, though she was not among their ranks.

Seresana was also walking while she talked, leading the two of them down streets and taking turns with nary a pause to see the street or bother with the buildings they were passing. She obviously knew this part of the village, and could be suspected to know how to get around several with how easily she navigated.

Word Count: 250
Total: 5,750

Dust had no idea of the distance, but she didn't really care. It was better than staying still... she got restless when staying still and doing nothing. "It's rare I get to see a sunset," she murmured as it did in fact set. She glanced over at Sena when she spoke again, cocking a brow. "What..." She paused to let out a quick sigh before speaking. "I don't know what you mean. This is my first day, why would I know anyone?" Her expression darkened again. "You trying to say I can't handle a job? It would be a hell of a lot easier than whatever I had to deal with at home. At home, it was the equivalent of twelve hour shifts, seven days a week. What jobs are available at the moment? I can do anything as long as it pays half-decently." She exhaled, her shoulders falling a bit as a result. Why does she care? Why not just leave her be? She has no reason to help her. It'd be better to save resources and just let her do her own thing.

"I'm sorry... That was very negative of me. I really shouldn't have said that..." She frowned. What was wrong with her? She should be happy. This girl was nice, the townspeople were nice... She wasn't, though. She needed to shape up or she would be ostracised. "I'm just having a hard time adjusting. How were you when you first came here? You were nervous too, right?"

Word count: 251, total 4914

Seresana was about to respond to the question about jobs, but before she could speak, Dust went on with the question about her first day at the academy. That had Seresana trying to think back to that day as it'd been a little while ago, but it wasn't too long ago that the memory completely escaped her. "Well, I was a little nervous," Seresana admitted with a little blush of embarrassment as they continued to walk. "But I was also really excited to finally get the chance to join the academy. Neither of my parents were ninja, so it was going to be really exciting being the first of the current generation of Hatasuko's to be a ninja," Seresana explained with a joyful smile.

"As for what jobs you can find around the village, several of the shops can always use cashiers. You can also work in a library, or for people on farms and babysitting work. There's really several different jobs you can work at within the village," Seresana concluded as she continued to lead them through even more of the village, though they seemed to be mostly going in one direction and that was towards the east side of town. Before too long, the walls that marked the edge of the village came into view.

Word Count: 218
Total: 5,968

Dust nodded repeatedly, relaxing yet again. Her better judgement knew that she had done new things in the past and been fine, but her instinct told her to be worried. However, her better judgement would win out... eventually. It might take a day or two, but it would. She just didn't know how long it would take... And she would have her moments where her better judgement would leave her. That has also happened before, after all... And this place may not be as lenient as the Hyuga, as impossible as that seems. She should probably bring it up. "My judgement might not be very clear sometimes... I apologise in advance. I might be paranoid or outright rude to you." She paused. "I hope you don't get angry as a result. You seem like the kind of person who you shouldn't tick off."

She nodded. "I'll probably work in a library. I don't like farming, and I can't really take care of young people well. I want to be a doctor, but I wouldn't be good at taking care of their day to day needs or anything like that. I do like books, though." She glanced around once they saw the walls. "How far outside the city do you live, then?" Dust asked. "I can't imagine it would be too far, you do need to go to class and all that..."

Word count: 230, total 5144