It was good for him that his friend was rather distracted by what he brought. Her question ame with the smack and left him to flounder about while she dug through things. His little muttering never met her ears~ Or if it did, she just barely started looking his way before he started on about something with ‘nevermind.’ So okay! Shumoku would have said if something was up anyway.
The nuts and bolts and cat and chain dug through, examining it and a faint sway to her tail as it assisted in her crouched balance, she’d find herself barely listening to where he got her ‘presents.’ It probably would have helped when she started questioning him later…
Giggling with the cat impression and putting it down, she was on her feet again and near him without a care in the world. Today was a great day! He had a cat though? The girl would have tilted her head inquisitively at that, the very thing she was wondering soon mentioned. “Ahhhh. Aww~ you’re too cute.” Chuckling again at his sweetness and sad little story. Shumoku was a good friend~ Though there was plenty she didn’t know about him, he was one of the best things to happen to her and the little bits he revealed about himself were always welcome.
“So I am the new cat~ You always come back to the surface and bring me things but I can’t go with you!”
A grin to the girl’s lip, quartz twirled in her fingers and then held in her palm, she’d find him shifting the conversation once more. Well, right in line with what they were talking about. Look, he even fed her~ A soft chuckle at her own inner thoughts and giving a bit of a nod.
“Yuup! Some, I guess? Do we need more.”
The girl carried after him after hurriedly gathering all the nonsense he brought up in her arms. Proud of her new selection of trinkets! And eagerly thinking on what to do with them while thoughts of food mixed into her thought processes. “I helped some lady out and she gave me a bunch of these jars. The fruit’s reaallll sweet. But I got like… apples and a bunch of rice. Um… Water!”
Proud of herself! Though perhaps to a arguably extend. The jars of preserved peaches boxed up in a couple boxes in the corner. Large containers of water perhaps the only thing that seemed that it was meant to last a rather long trip. Barrel of apples roughly half full. Bags of rice. But she did get things~
“Aren’t we gonna fish? Maybe I shoulda got spices or something. Hm.”
It apparently hadn’t occurred to her that it might be helpful to not eat the blandest food, but also she didn’t seem bothered. Her arms full of things and fingers gripping the smaller items, she’d be watching him all the same with a grin.
“Shuuuu! There’s something super super important that we can’t forget. More important than food!”
Eagerness swept across her face and surely she meant whatever was exciting her so much. Her tail behind her lightly whipping side to said, keeping out of striking distance anything but clear enough sign of her energy from all points of her.
A girl flinging her things at an assailant was all too obvious to come across, especially with her practically screeching. This stuff was hers! Junk or not it was her junk! Cart and bag, all her knicknacks. Hers!
The newcomer had gone unnoticed, whoever had approached other than the two bandits weren’t to be caught by the ‘ever watchful eye’ of Kokkoro. Bag near empty, a few things apparently too treasured to actually be thrown. The girl huffing and the man she had been chucking things at looking understandably furious at the stupid onslaught. Opened his mouth to comment even, though wouldnt’ get the chance before a sharp cry and stumble back would be given. The hell?!
Two had actually been present, though one much more out of the immediate vision of a shrieking girl and her assailant. Picking through the cart that had been a little ways off from the two, though finding nothing more than the same sort of things she had been throwing… Random oddities both broken and not, clocks or trinkets, screws and nuts and bolts… Even the little bit of food was meager at best and even some well on its way to going bad.
The shinobi had effectively separated the sides though. A rock wall rising and having the girl stumble back, tail flicking behind her and helping to at least keep her balance with that shift of weight assisting. The guy was gone though. She couldn’t see him. Eyes wide, in shock, she stared for a moment with her jaw even falling open.
Where was her stuff?? The precious stuff, obviously, that she had been throwing.
“H-hey! Wait!”
Frantically looking to where that voice was and then at the wall, determining if she could even climb it or if she should scamper around it… What if they took her things?!?
Which did seem to be the case… Not as if it was any large assortment of stuff that was gathered up in arms, but a few curses called out and the two men scrambling to pick up… something… that made all their effort worth the time wasted and run off.
Though Kokkoro adamant to be right behind them. Rushing along the wall, having decided she was definitely not super amazingly fit enough to scale whatever the shinobi had done, she’d dart the way of that newcomer and head around the wall after those two jerks!
“I had it, I had it, I had it though. Uuughhh!”
A wiggling, sprinting, young woman with a fat tail weaving behind her as she’d attempt to give chase on those already with a head start… Assuming further obstacles weren’t placed in anyone’s way of course.
It was like she had climbed mountains and crossed endless terrain, it had to be! Days upon days of tireless travel and she still didn't know where she was going... Maddening. Simply maddening. Yet she'd continue on, the world of Amegakure was just barely beyond her grasp, she could feel it! Though no such thing was in sight. Some advice from her companion had been to go North around a certain area of the nations... It was safer? But soooo much longer. Day after day of travel. Good thing she was kinda used to meandering around and finding stuff~ Just. Usually in a much more wet climate...
Unfortunately there was something rather dangerous that she had never quite gotten used to. In the Land of Water she was better at moving about the terrain unnoticed and usually had some sort of 'home base' to store all the junk in her life. But here and traveling? Well.. she had acquired a cart! It was clunky and old but it worked well! Carried her stuff that she added to all the time and periodically had to toss things so her body could manage to move it... Still. She was on her way to bigger and better things and learning along the way!
All until those pesky bandits. Cart overturned, her things sprawling and scattered across the ground. A random assortment of gadgets and trinkets, from mechanical weaponry in the most basic forms to little clocks or ticking trinkets that hadn't quite been investigated yet. A mess! And no help of the mess in the fields came from a girl chucking what was in her bag at one of two men who had come onto the scene... Acting innocent at first, but all too quickly realized not to be normal travelers as they went through her belongings and came for her pack!
Item after item chucked at him. A canteen. A hunk of rock. A hammer. One after another thrown at the man while she backed up, yet almost circling... she didn't want to get too far from her cart!
"This stuff is mine! Go find your own!"
A lady of intelligence was she... Though her finds and gadgets far too precious to simply let them take! All with the other man growing more irritable at the literal junk that was being sorted through. Quickly becoming apparent the young woman had been a waste of time...
How could they not be excited?! But his words no less were encouraging towards the young woman. Contact was so easy to gain with him, but just as easy to part with. It was the sort of thing that she was more or less used to now and didn’t bat an eye nor take a moment of hesitation when she moved through her antics.
Making him laugh was always worth it though~ A grin all the brighter as he expressed that bit of joy, whether she had noticed his teeth or not, a word wasn’t spared. There was no time! For what he suggested was the perfect thing~
“Of course! You’re always welcome to stick your nose into anything I’ve made~ But this is ours. She wouldn’t have existed without you!”
Gleeful expression of her sharing the craft, rough as it was, the creation was equally in existence due to him. “Hm?” Didn’t mean she wasn’t totally distractible from whatever he was talking about. One what A First Mate? Turning on her heel and tail whipping about just barely missing the poor male on the turn around she’d find herself looking at a brightly colored bird on top of a bunch of junk! Eyes sparkling and a look turned on her friend, tail actually meeting its mark, or meaning to, by a gentle swipe to his butt.
“Did you bring me presents~”
Closing in on what he had brought and crouching down, coaxing the bird away with a few ‘shoos’ of her hands. She wanted to see! And if that bright bird didnt inhibit her, she’d rummage through the things he had dropped there. “I can probably get most of this cleaned off. Hm… probably used to be cute…” Muttering to herself as she fingered through the oxidized and rusted metals, peering at them a moment, then set aside for another. But the cat picked up and the girl laughed, holding it up next to her face and trying her best to mimic a cat expression!
“Haha~ Did it remind you of me~? Meow!”
Giggling and teasing him, but placing it back down and popping back up with something different in her hands.
“No way I’m putting this off! We’re ready! And if we’re not, I have the best swimmer in all the nations to save my tail~ Where’d you get this anyway?”
Her attention left and right, up and down. But tending to go back towards his words before presenting something completely different before his eye, holding up the quartz and practically showcasing it at his nose as if he must never have seen it before...
Always so quick to react to her, it was one of the many benefits of being able to interact with Shumoku~ Her bit of sudden contact with him was little more than a brace of himself and return, the girl allowed to be as free as she wished as hugging was given briefly between them and she spun about him. Contact kept! Because she couldn’t lose him now. Tail even used as a means to keep them together, ushering him along even if he protested~
A laugh sounding out all too happily, his confirmation in following her practically whining about how she had done it. It was good to see him though and she was glad to be able to drag him off out of the crowds and all to herself! The seas of people still parted, if only not wanting in direct contact with whatever serpentine tails was weaving their way, but with nothing more than curious eyes there was nothing to fret over. Kokkoro was more used to such things~ And hardly a mind was plid. Plus! She had Shu now.
A brief and annoying dilemma was… not addressed. Not in the least! She was pretty sure she’d wiggle her ass up there somehow just fine, hardly in the most graceful way though that was for sure. Distracted by trying to draw a compliment out of her friend towards her handiwork. It was definitely one of a kind! And her smile grew all the bigger as he admitted it was, indeed, beautiful. “Right! She got a lot of care and att-... hey!”
Bragging on her little ship had her miss that glint to his eye, a telltale sign that he was up to no good and she was only clued in once he jumped! Onto her ship! Whipping around, surprisingly smooth echo of that movement with her tail letting it swirl about her and remain behind her. Accented pout given with hands set to her wide hips and weight distributed to one side. Man was he pretty when he did stupid stuff like that… She was only a little jealous though!
Look at him tease her. A grin fighting against her obvious pout all for her to take a hand and pointer finger to tap lightly against her short brown hair and to her skull. “Yeah, I totally meant physically slow~” Grin won out, the girl at least keeping from chuckling as she sent a wink her friend’s way. Her senses finally starting to clue in on all the noise he had been making jumping around that her her interested definitely piqued.
Lowered bridge though, girl practically skipping up them. She wanted to look around like it was some big triumphant one last time, leaving the docks of this land and going to somewhere big and beyond! She couldn’t fight her gaze off of her friend though… Shu staying in her eyes and her pace turning to a brief ‘run’ for those last few steps to hop in front of him.
“Shu~ I’m good!
I’m excited. And super super nervous.
What if I missed something? Or it springs a leak? I’m pretty good at fixing but what if I can’t fix it fast enoughhhhh?”
His answer would have been sudden, with just the briefest pauses as she went to grasp his hands. Bouncing on the balls of her feet and exclaiming her excitement and nervousness. All for the eager girl to let him go if he hadn’t held onto her, flats of her fingers and hands patting against her body as she thought about the reasons of those worries and a few of them spoken. Her poor ship maybe going under would be terrible! Patpat to her hips and belly, sides of her thighs and even a couple claps.
This Wharf was a lively place and gem all its own, but it had never shined quite as brightly as this day! Kokkoro had been preparing since the break of day with excitement, every waking moment taken advantage of while she prepared her little ship. They promised to leave today! And nothing could match her joy. She’d see the world~ See knew things to break down and make. The way people acted different or built different things. How people reacted to her or how the air smelled different. Amegakure would have been the most fantastic place to see! But really she was itching to go anywhere. He promised.
A promise that might have been as vague as him saying he’d show up, it was taken to heart though! Kokkoro often putting weight into things that seemed passing and being sure to keep up on her end of things as well~ Shumoku was her only consistent friend, even if their consistency had at one point only been once every so many months. But it worked~ He always came back. And even moreso now!
A boat~ A surprise she had sprung upon him at their last ‘scheduled’ meeting and her plans to go see what he had seen and more. To which he helped her. What had truly been a rusted and terrifying hunk of metal that she had apparently saved up to get was a disgrace. Barely floating, it had been stuck in the shallows off the coastline instead of marring the actual docks. Little by little though they fixed it up. It could float now! They got a huge new mast that only took many many weeks of hard work to make sturdy as they secured pieces together… It was all coming together though. The little boat, all her preparations, and all she needed now was Shumoku!
Thankfully who was on his way~ The far dock, one that was least used by far, but one she was able to get her little craft pulled up to in order to set sail whenever they were ready. Her little body up the mast and checking for loose rope, any screws loose, anything crooked! This had to be perfect, and she saw him too~ Up there she had plenty of vantage and space, so it was easy to see he was making his way to where she was! Hanging off the mast, giggling to herself as she watched for just a little bit, but then went back to her work checking over the little details so she didn’t end up capsized in the middle of the water!
Little by little, check by check, time flew by and… where was he? Shouldnt’ he have called to her by now…? A little bit of a mock grumpy pout came to her face as she looked back to the docks for her friend. He had been coming before… did he get distracted by fish…?
That pout turning to a little more understanding, the poor guy. While Kokkoro wasn’t generally a very popular sight among the places she visited she also tended to care a lot less. She was used to it, the freaky tail and horror at noticing the oddities about her, even worse if they realized how snake-like it all was. Snakes weren’t exactly the most revered creature among civilians~ But. Things were always fine. Shumoku though? He tended to be the more nervous sort, especially around a lot of people. Cute~ When it wasn’t annoying.
Sliding down the mast, ropes taken in hand and helping her down in little hops and slides as quickly as she could. Her hands burned a bit by the bottom, rough and naturally more rugged and cut up digits from all her tinkering never had her seeming the most dainty or pristine. But hitting the deck, she’d be off! A thud of her feet, tap tap tap across the top, then launching over teh side to land on the dock! Stumbling a bit, catching her breath from the hop and… where had he been… hm….
The girl cut into the crowds with that curiosity and without much of a plan. Why? Because the first gasp was all it took to get people looking her way. The seas parted, grinning female all too happy to be part of the Wharf and dock for that day showed of the pointed daggers of teeth set in her jaw. She was happy~ Though not beyond knowing it could be unsettling.
The first glimpse of her friend though, she’d dart ahead. Smacking into one individual and skidding into another, she could feel light thunks of her tail as people scurried away from the odd, thick appendage. “Shu! C’mon, I’m getting ready!” A launch towards him as well, practically hugging him yet not quite letting go of that momentum either… Arms around him briefly, hug, then swirling about behind him with one hand dragging along his body as if centering her turn.
“Hahaha! You’re so slow!” Making light of it all, eager and excited to go, and by his side again and inching forwards ahead to lead him with the thick tail behind and practically pushing him forward along with her. They could get to her ship! Her little boat all her own! And once to it… Well… she hadn’t put down her docking board… whoops. Looking at her boat as if it was its fault for forgetting, huffing a bit as she glared, then turning round on her heel and shoving her hands behind her back. Grinning~
“So? Isn’t she real pretty?”
The… busted and mixed up mess of a ship that she had been working on for months and months that he had seen come together was far from ‘pretty.’ But it was hers and obviously she was proud.
A young girl born on one of the many islands of the Land of Water. Her family had no particular renown to their name and not affection for her either. It was in the very first years of her life that she released she had been left alone; abandoned to live or die on her own without so much as a goodbye from her parents. A naturally curious child thrust into the world yet quickly adapting to survive. A simplistic way of life likely easiest and to live off the land, something she surely learned how to do, but it was in those young years that she developed a love for something far more sophisticated than what the wilderness could offer.
Tools. Creations. Mechanisms. Technology. Things that she had first thought to be magic captured her heart and became the main reasons for her to venture into villages and interact with people. In and out of those places though, never truly accepted and only finding little things to tinker with on her time traveling about rather than a true master to study under. Years of practice does one good though! Or so she would say herself~ Not that she was beyond making plenty of mistakes and troubles. A dire circumstance of misjudging a craft on the water and going under with the wreckage would take her life. Or nearly so. Shumoku Hoshigaki being the one that pulled her from those jaws of death and a quick friendship was formed. With long pauses between their meetings up until the recent day where she's much more eager to get into creating and studying. There had been times in the past she'd made things, even his weapon something she adored being able to work on and give to him!
But now a boat. Barely salvaged and bought with her working on it with his help. Shumoku giving her help in finding things beneath the surface and his endless tales of what's beyond the islands she's always known. The future is ahead!
-Energetic -Motivated -Jovial -Passionate -Impulsive -Sarcastic -Situationally Sensitive [Doesn't always realize she should feel guilt, shame, or regret, but feels so strongly once its pointed out]
Proficiencies
Mechanical Passion [Apprentice] A fascination she's held since she was young, Kokkoro finds amazement and joy in being able to tinker and learn from various sorts of technology. While she might not be intimately aware of every sort of thing that crosses her eye, she can distinguish the uses of simpler mechanical devices on sight, breaking down how they work and what they're capable of. The more complicated said mechanisms might be, the longer it takes for her to distinguish, taking hours and even days to study, tinker, and experiment with whatever she can get her hands on. With enough time and focus, it's likely she's able to break down any mechanism that might cross her path! Only able to fully recreate the most simple of mechanisms though, whereas more complicated things she may be able to repair over time if most of the initial creation is present.
Orochi Heritage What she can only explain as hereditary from those parents of hers long past, Kokkoro appears to have abnormal features when compared to other people. Teeth that all reach a pointed tip, a forked tongue, ears slightly longer than normal that find a knifed edge rather than rounded top, and most notably being the thick tail that continues from her spine with a length that even reaches past her feet. Reptile blood supposedly in her veins that have altered her appearance since birth while also providing her a little bit of an inconvenience whenever the weather changes... Cold often making her more lethargic and the warmth more energetic.
Reptilian Physiology [Rookie] Over the years she's gotten down the very basics of her bloodline, though not something that proves overly convenient. Attempts to rid herself of her abnormal features provided the exact opposite. Her body taking on the complete form of a female green anaconda. The benefit of being small and able to hide not even a benefit she is able to attain, for the type of snake she apparently emulates is a thick bodied reptile at nearly ten feet in length, likely only to grow larger as she gets older...
A rocky clan heritage that no one seems to have the most solid ideas of how they originated. The most common rumors among their clan involve vast experiments that eventually resulted in what they've found themselves to be today. A myth and rumor not entirely untrue, as the clan would have first originated by unnatural means. Over generations their bloodline solidified with specific traits, however, and those with that blood manifesting enough obvious signs that they were able to band together into their own solid, though small, group. Orochi Clan founded among those with blood such as theirs, features of reptiles even if not always technically the same type. It would have been a loose camaraderie until the nations were torn asunder. The perfect opportunity for the clan to fall apart. The world in disarray, the differing opinions of the clan would pull harder. Those who wished to hide their bloodline, those who wished to flaunt it, at odds with one another through centuries now having the clan split and scatter amongst the nations. Those of the Orochi clan often feeling empty and out of place with their unsettling features and so few that understand their specific heritage.
Kekkei Genkai
Orochi Heritage Those of the clan are born with unnatural features that separate them from the rest of society. These features can be rather simple and mundane to something large and unsettling. Fangs, slitted eyes, lack of exterior ears to be replaced by interior ones, forked tongues, scales, or tails all being but examples of what an Orochi could be born with. Their bloodline one that involves the specifics of reptiles within their veins, the clan is known for being more comfortable in warm weather and highly less tolerable of cold. Awakening of their bloodline comes with focus, control, practice, or perhaps desperation. While all reptilian, they are most associated with 'snakes' which man often considers an enemy worth killing.
Hachūrui no seirigaku | [Reptilian Physiology] Requirements: Orochi Heritage
At the very basic start of developing of their bloodline, the Orochi will find the utilization taxing and aggravating. The biggest difference and change at the rookie proficiency is that they are able to change from their humanoid bodies to that of a typical reptile. A complete transformation from what they are normally to that of an animal, benefiting from that reptile's strengths and weaknesses in only that base reptilian form. Their natural features may grow worse, aka those with fangs may now have them grow wider and longer, or those with tails find them suddenly longer and thicker due to practicing with their bloodlines, the clan still unable to naturally hide their oddities as a humanoid and can only shrink away as a fully transformed reptile. Other benefits are minimal but can often lay the groundwork for what further advancement the clan can offer. Or what they may lose...
At the apprentice proficiency they retain the ability to fully transform into a reptile, in addition to benefits in their typical form if so activated. Hints towards all of these benefits are similar to that of the previous proficiency, with only vague feelings towards a future to come. At this proficiency they will gain the ability to activate their bloodline, providing strengths and weaknesses combined. They are able to choose one benefit of their bloodline while also acquiring the corresponding weakness. As well as being able to activate an Enhanced sense of Touch. This enhanced sense of touch makes them highly sensitive to changes in the environment around them.
When becoming more practiced in their bloodline, those at the Journeyman proficiency are able to freely transform between their reptilian and humanoid form as well as activate benefits of their bloodline while in their normal form. Enhanced sense of touch comes with somewhat of a boon in ability, but the true show in power is that they are able to utilize two traits of their bloodline rather than one, with corresponding weaknesses as well.
At the level of Veteran they are able to begin hiding their reptilian appearance, appearing far more human and able to blend in with the natural world. They are still able to take the form of a reptile in its base state as well as access their natural humanoid form. The enhanced sense of touch consistently remains throughout the advancement of their bloodline with increasing ability to notice and adapt to changes in the environment, while this level gains the ability to acquire all strengths and weaknesses of their bloodline.
It's at Master that one would truly understand the depth of what they are. Able to shift 'skins' of themselves at ease. From blending as a normal human, to humanoid reptilian, to a reptile as a whole. Their enhanced sense of touch exceedingly helpful in the smallest shifts in their environment. Having not only acquired all boons of their bloodline but able to negate one of the weaknesses of such. And their ability to blend into the environment unseen and unheard becomes more naturally gifted, a predatory beast coming into its own.
Pinnacle of all that is the Orochi and not a level that has been known to be reached within the last generations is that of Grand Master. Weaving between any mixture of man and reptilian beast at will, with the ability to activate an exceptional sense of touch. They have acquired all boons of their bloodline while negating all the side effects, and remain predatory monsters able to slip in and out of situations unseen and unheard, almost as if their very being is changing to blend into the cover around them.
Bloodline Capabilities
Enhanced Smell/Taste | Poor Eyesight - A true combination of smell and taste, the subject loses their typical sense of smell entirely to utilize that of a reptilian organ. It is the tongue taking in the particles of the air that then makes them capable of acutely telling what is in the vicinity. A baffling amount of scents can be processed via this method with surprising accuracy that has fabled the idea that this creates a sixth sense altogether, in truth, the molecules in the air are simply processed differently allowing a very clear and true picture of their surroundings. | Assuming one has not met the higher levels of proficiency, Enhanced Smell/Taste comes with the downside of Poor Eyesight. Being almost virtually blinded with only the fuzziest of images getting through, the picture of the shinobi's vision is one that can't be relied upon, making it all the more essential they utilize their alternative senses. Vibrational Hearing | Decreased Stamina and Endurance - A distinct characteristic of many reptiles is their ability to hear in a very different way. While utilizing the ear is typical for a human, Orochi are able to maximize the vibrations within their body and calculate and decipher information through those vibrations. While the more bodily contact with the ground the better, Orochi are able to utilize their bodies as vessels to break down the vibrations that carry through the things they touch [usually the ground] and be able to create a mental picture of what those vibrations are caused by, their location, and their actions. | This vibrational hearing comes with a steep cost to Stamina and Endurance should one not have a high proficiency as an Orochi member. Cold-blooded, reptiles often need a source of heat to be able to act at full capacity. With the boon of their specialized hearing their body enters a colder and more hibernational state, not making them incapacitated by any means but surely lowering their ability to continue on and take damage.
Infrared Vision | Deafness - A boon of a varied form of eyesight, the Orochi are able to detect heat signatures to even the smallest degree. Creating detailed images in their mind of whatever may have been giving off heat, even those unseen by typical vision wouldn't be able to hide from their eyes unless completely ridding themselves of any temperature shifts. | As always, a cost is applied. The specialized vision coming with a deafness of the ear. At most, muffled sounds may carry through but be indistinguishable in what would be causes said noise, unable to utilize that typical sense to any degree which may be considered helpful.
Suggested Proficiencies
Enhanced Reaction Speed - Reptiles are known for their swift and immediate strikes that can take prey off guard.
Poison Knowledge/Capability - While not all reptiles have any sorts of poisons or toxins, the most deadly and revered ones tend to make their names from those dangerous and scary doses of death.
