The Hidden Cloud Village was at times a very calm place to be, surrounded by mountains at such a high altitude gave it a unique vantage point over most of the surrounding area, which in itself was a killer way to get a nice view. For the residents who had always been looking for a nice spot to simply gaze at the beauty of nature, their had been a few platforms constructed to be as natural as possible, giving the best view to overlook the village itself and the beautiful features that surrounded it. Many of the village’s eldery and retired ninja had found themselves here, appreciating the results of their hard work to keep such a beautiful place safe. To Enma, it had been a relaxing place to practice his games, and was a place well known for where he had often accepted challengers: alongside a nice cup of tea of course.
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On this particular day there had been a nice breeze accompanying the choice view, the cold air coming from the top of the mountains that the village laid hidden within providing the perfect excuse to wear something a bit more cozey to this part of the village, with Enma himself in a large robe wrapped around himself, the loose tails flapping lightly as the breeze passed by him. His eyes had been staring intently at the Shogi board beneath him, with his eyes unmoving from the middle of the board. For most people, playing against yourself was a surefire way to lose, but for Enma, it was thebest way to perfect his own strategies. The best way to win is to know what can beat you, and beat it first! He chuckled at the saying, thinking it was ridiculous if something like that would catch on. It was true however, he had placed himself in a very poor position, already his winning strategy in most games crumbling against a mirrored style of play, exploiting each move’s sacrifice for a greater gain down the line, cutting off the necessary pieces for plays that were instrumental to further plans. A basic strategy really, but one that was difficult to pull off if you couldn’t tell what your opponent would do next.
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So the genin sat there, absorbed in his game as he watched fought against himself, unaware of the world around him.
Kumogakure was a great place, with beautiful scenic views all around. It was not hard for one to find a place that was not only aesthetically pleasing, but also quiet. This was perfect for a woman like Izumi, who unfortunately spent way too much of her time with or around people on a regular basis. Her samurai training was always done with other samurai from what remains of the Niijima family household, her job as a geisha meant she spent most her nights performing at parties for diplomats and other wealthy people from all around the world. And as a shinobi...well, she simply was just around people. So, when she finally had a breather, those rare moments when she could spend some time by herself, she enjoyed going on little adventures around the village and country to find spots where she could forget about the busy life and stare at something pretty. [break][break]
Today, she had found a place that was calm and quiet, which gave her an image of the village from a vantage point. If only she was good at drawing or painting, it would have been the perfect spot to capture beauty at its best. Sadly, she was not so skilled at art, closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath while she breathed in the fresh air that the platform offered. The weather was neither hot nor cold, with a slight breeze. Izumi opened her eyes slowly, her dark brown hues scanned the scenery before her. She had almost forgotten just how beautiful her village was, becoming too immersed with the stresses of daily life that she had taken nature and what it offered for granted. But it was better late than never, she supposed, as she got up from her seated position. The girl had been sitting here for a good hour, taking in the sights. It was the most natural way of meditation for her, and allowed her mind to be completely blank. [break][break]
She grabbed her sword, having rested it beside her against the rock she sat on. Her sword was one of her most prized possessions, reminding her of her identity as a samurai and of her family. Izumi placed the sword underneath the obi of her yukata, having chosen to wear a black silk yukata that was styled in such a way which allowed her to move more freely than most conventional yukatas. It composed of three parts, the top like that of a shirt, the bottom was a careful mixture of a skirt shorts, with the shorts part stitched inside the skirt to provide her with ease of movement, and a red silk sash that acted as an obi, binding both top and bottom together. This was her usual samurai well, coupled with her big straw hat, completed her look. By now most of the people in her village were well aware of her way of dress, although children would still stare at her unusual attire on the streets. She was an onnabusha, or woman samurai, and to her there was no better way of dress than what she had on today. [break][break]
The girl would begin to make her way back to the village, feeling slightly rejuvenated. There were still a few hours left of her day before the sun set and before she had to prepare for the tea party she was hosting that night. Being a geisha was exhausting at times, and had it not been for the amount of money she got from each performance, she would have retired from it a long time ago. Izumi was just about to descend from the mountain when something caught her eye. Or rather, someone caught her eye. Oh, there's company...she thought to herself. From where she was, the girl could only see the back of the person, sitting and apparently lost in his own little world. Thinking about whether to intrude, she was somewhat curious as to what he was doing. Taking cautious steps as not to alarm the stranger, she made her way slowly to where he was sitting. Upon closing in the distance, she saw that he was...playing a board game? And what more...he seemed to be playing with himself! Izumi never could understand how people managed to play against themselves, having seen the elders of her family play chess and other games with themselves before. [break][break]
She cleared her throat softly, alerting the man of her presence. [break][break]
Enma had been at the precipice of the game, with both sides of the board having equal opportunity to end the game. The young shinobi had taken a moment to look around at the board, his eyes scanning each row and possible interaction from both sides of the table, making sure to seperate himself from the board with each play that he had considered. There had been many possibilities, with a number of them requiring sacrifices in order to work, another set that all required a bit of luck, and others that simply did nothing to change the state of the board at all. From both sides of the table, it seemed like the opponent was a resilient wall that refused to be broken down. There was a slight breeze that flew past the cloud ninja, his head rising up to look at the sky, a deep sigh escaping him. “I really hate it when it gets like this, both sides of the board need to play aggressive in order to gain the advantage or pray that the other has misjudged the board. Totally unrealistic…”
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With his eyes falling back onto the board, Enma stared at it one more time, lifting his hand to move a piece for one side of the board in order to get the game over with. But before he could lift it off the ground, he heard someone clearing their throat behind him. The tight grip with which he held the piece was loosened, the cloud ninja’s head turning to face the stranger who had interrupted him. It only took a moment for the young man to recognize that this was a female samurai, the way of dress well known to many in the Hidden Cloud, with the straw hat and sheathed sword being other dead giveaways. “ I didn’t expect for anyone to acknowledge my presence here. Am I in your way, or were you simply admiring the game? You can join me if you want, these stalemates always bore me anyway. ”
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Not even waiting on her answer, Enma began to clear and rearrange the board. “What is your name onnabusha? It’d be rude to face you and not know your name.”
As she cleared her throat, she had expected a startled reaction, perhaps because she had managed to startle so many others in the past that way. But as the man, which she could now see was a boy, turn his head slowly to face her, she knew that there was something more to him than just a regular person enjoying a one person shogi game. He had been unnerved, to say the least, and had managed to call out indiscreetly her identity as an onnabusha. It could only mean one of two things: that he too was a samurai, or he was a shinobi. The former was a little farfetched, seeing as he held no air of a warrior, his attire didn't reflect in this either. He could simply be wearing normal clothes, though, although a samurai never would be seen without their sword. Their sword was their life, just as much as it was their weapon. [break][break]
That only left the other possibility, that he was a shinobi. Common folk would have at least been slightly rattled by her presence, but he seemed so...calm. As he inquired about why she had been there, it took her a moment to realize that it was she who had disrupted his game. "No, you are not in my way at all. I heard a noise..." her voice was soft was she turned her gaze from the boy's face to the board. "You are a shogi player..." the woman would comment, lifting her gaze back to the boy. "I don't know how to play the game but I've seen many of the elders in my family enjoy one." The wind rustled her hair slightly. Izumi had thought about commenting on the fact that he was playing with himself but then decided not to say anything, knowing that her words could sometimes offend without meaning to. [break][break]
"I would love to learn how to play if you wouldn't mind teaching me..." her voice trailed as he extended an invitation for her to join him. She was fond of board games, preferring chess more than any other. But ever since her parents died, she had had nobody to play with, and her life had taken on too much momentum for her to even have time to play chess. It was nice to see that someone shared the same hobby, though the game they liked to played was different. The girl went on to take off her straw hat, revealing her long black hair that flowed with the direction of the wind. While he rearranged the pieces on the board, Izumi placed the giant hat on the side and sat down opposite him, now at eye level. "Niijima Izumi. You can call me Izumi." She gave him a courteous small smile. "Are you a shinobi too?" Perhaps that was a giveaway that she was one, the Kumo headband that many shinobi wore proudly was absent from her forehead. She had tucked the headband in the pocket inside her obi sash, preferring not to parade it around the streets like everyone else. [break][break]
The onnabusha was right to call him a shinobi, his calm at her presence and making herself known to him was something that often happened during training, although his hectic household had certainly aided his ability to keep calm. Once it was clear that she was interested in his game, a slight smile came to the cloud ninja’s face, as he finished resetting the pieces to all of their proper places on the board. “You must have heard me slamming down my pieces. Sorry about that, I tend to let the game get ahead of me sometimes without realizing it. It is shogi after all!” When she made the mention of the elders that played the game he couldn’t help but chuckle, lifting his gaze up to the sky as he was reminded of his own grandfather who had taught him. “It does seem like the elders often enjoy this game more than all the others, though I know my fair share of more modern games. This is simply my favorite.”
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As the young woman sat across from him, placing her straw hat down at his side after requesting his guidance, he chuckled a little. “I’m a bit young to be showing you the ropes but I’d be happy to teach ya. Not often do I get to introduce someone to the game. It's nice to meet you Izumi, my name is Kuchiki Enma, though you can call me Enma.” He bowed his head in response, immediately nodding at her question. “Yes actually, although I only recently attained that title.” Enma’s hand would move up to his chin, as his face turned from content to quizzical. “Do you know about the rules of chess? If so this will be much easier to explain. Shoot I almost forgot, would you like some tea?”
"Chess is actually my favorite board game." Her voice displayed a little more excitement at the mention of chess. Her father had wanted her to learn how to play when she was a child, to train her brain on strategies and critical thinking. She remembered that one of the most heartwarming memories from her childhood was when she played chess with her father. As she got better at it, her passion for it had grown, but she was definitely no world-class player by any means. For one, her father was much better. She sat there for a moment, reminiscing the past. How she missed her father...[break][break]
Izumi caught herself from her daydream and turned her attention back to Enma. She shook her head at his humbleness and merely smiled. To her, he was a better player than she was and more qualified in teaching than she would ever be. "You are being too modest, Kuchiki-san." She had taken the liberty to call him by his family name with the correct honorific to match, as she had been taught by her elders. It was the common courtesy of a warrior and a lady. Kuchiki...such an interesting name...she thought to herself. Kuchiki meant decaying wood, and was one of the more exotic of family names, but one that would be engraved in people's minds because of the exoticness. [break][break]
"I haven't played chess in a long time, admittedly. I think I remember most of the rules." She wondered how similar shogi was to chess. "And I would love some tea." The girl smiled warmly at the mention of tea. She hadn't had tea in a long time, but she knew that tea was a natural drink whenever people played board games. It seemed to compliment the games well. "Have you ever been to a tea ceremony, Kuchiki-san? I am a big fan of matcha." Izumi would withhold the fact that she hosted tea ceremonies mostly because she would have to disclose that she was a geisha, and judging from the reputation of the profession, she wasn't about the disclose so easily to a person she had just met.[break][break]
"And, have you been a shinobi for a long time?"[break][break]
