“Thanks!” Kaede blushed, twisting a finger around a curl. She wasn’t accustomed to getting compliments from boys. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Kakesu.”[break][break]
She looked back out over the water behind him. Magic? She thought to herself. That was one way to think about it. “Are you talking about ninjutsu techniques? I’d love to see more of that.” [break][break]
Kaede knew she had the capability of utilizing water release as well but she’d always been hesitant to give it a try. She never liked the feeling of being submerged in water. It made her insects squirm nervously whenever she took so much as a bath so she always took a shower instead. Watching someone else practice seemed safe enough though.[break][break]
[attr="class","wonderFoot"]i've never seen anybody do the things you do before
Kaede would wait a few beats for Tou to respond but he must not have been interested in making friends because he simply brushed her off and returned to his business of preaching to the crowd. The young Aburame’s shoulders slumped and she turned to wander off. She had better things to do today than watch some zealot spew nonsense at every passerby. In fact, she was pretty sure there was a plate of pancakes somewhere in the village that was calling her name. [break][break]
Notes: Kaede will exit here unless specifically addressed.
[attr="class","wonderFoot"]i've never seen anybody do the things you do before
Kaede smiled at Ryota’s introduction. Her childhood friend was the other chunin on their platoon but it was good to see that this one seemed just as competent. As she looked around she saw a lot of familiar faces and she couldn’t believe her luck! All these people on the team were so cool… She wondered if there had been some mistake and she’d been given the wrong assignment or maybe she’d been sent there to balance them out. Either way, she was getting the good end of the deal. [break][break]
She was significantly shorter than the others and she used that to her advantage, slinking into the shadow behind Yue as their Jounin showed up and immediately asked a pretty significant question. She was worried she might say the wrong thing and ruin her first impression with Oda so she chose to remain silent and listen to what the others had to say instead.[break][break]
[attr="class","wonderFoot"]i've never seen anybody do the things you do before
Kaede could feel the tingling hum of her beetles growing louder as the debate heated. She glanced up at the tall, dark-haired guy as he spoke to her and a rosy glow appeared on the apples of her cheeks. The warm fuzzies hit her stomach as the pretty blonde girl pushed her hood back and she did her best to suppress the bugs inside her hoodie. She’d never had the courage to talk to people this cool and her worst nightmare was sure to come true if even a single beetle were to crawl onto the girl’s hand. She smiled back with baited breath until the girl’s attention shifted to her companion and she motioned to usher him away. [break][break]
This seemed like the best chance for her to escape this tense and far too public situation as well and she moved to follow the blonde even though she hadn’t been expressly invited to come with them. She figured she could probably trail after them and then break off without much fuss. [break][break]
The genin stopped however and looked back at the extremist and there was sadness in her heart. The simplicity of his worldview… How could one’s vision be so devoid of color in their various shades? Perhaps he was too blinded to see the things that made living worthwhile. Kaede didn’t doubt he would throw his life away eagerly if given the chance. She took a step towards him. “The death of anyone here only tips the scales further towards the monsters clawing at the gate. The most patriotic thing you can do is to live your life.”[break][break]
Kaede took a deep breath and reached a hand out towards the lone figure, “Let’s start over. I’m Kaede Aburame. We could get to know each other over breakfast, if you’re not too busy here.”[break][break]
[attr="class","wonderFoot"]i've never seen anybody do the things you do before
Kaede watched the stranger trying to stand on the waves and was thoroughly impressed. He wasn’t anyone she recognized even though he seemed about her age. She smiled as he made his way, buffeted by the waves, towards her but was surprised by the question. She didn’t really have any authority over the use of the beach, it was public access, so she figured he must not be from around here. [break][break]
“Everyone’s welcome… unless you’re up to no good.” She chuckled good naturedly at the thought. Then she looked him up and down. He didn’t seem like a ninja but looks could be deceiving. “What were you doing out there? It seemed pretty cool.” [break][break]
The genin had come to the beach with the intention of training suiton. She knew that one of her chakra natures was water but so far she’d been nervous to try it on account of her insects. She was worried they might drown if she were to be completely submerged. [break][break]
[attr="class","wonderFoot"]i've never seen anybody do the things you do before
Kaede made her way through the winding tunnels towards the designated meeting spot. She’d been on the team for a couple of months but with personnel being shifted around they hadn’t really done much as a group, let alone held a team meeting. She’d been thrilled to hear her old friend Yusuke had been placed on her team. He was an accomplished shinobi. However, she was also a little nervous that she might mess up and make a fool of herself in front of her friend. [break][break]
The genin stuck her hands in her pockets, picked up the pace, and shook her head to clear such thoughts from her mind. They were all going to be spending a lot of time together so it was pretty inevitable that someday they would discover she was a dork. No use worrying about it now. [break][break]
She arrived at the end of the tunnel and looked around. There was the chunin she’d met once or twice before and what must have been a new genin. Oh! She thought. Wasn’t that the girl from the other day? [break][break]
Kaede walked up just in time to hear Yue’s introduction. She stepped forward with a nervous smile. “I’m Kaede Aburame… also Platoon 1.”
[attr="class","wonderFoot"]i've never seen anybody do the things you do before
It wasn’t until Yusuke stood up that Kaede could really tell how much taller he’d grown. His voice was a little deeper too but it was still familiar enough to inspire a hug. Overcome with joy, she jumped up on her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck, laying her ear against his chest for just a moment before pulling back to a more acceptable social distance.[break][break]
“Of course! I wasn’t worried.” She lied quickly. “I’m super glad you're back! I’m not going to say things were boring without you but they definitely haven’t been the same.”[break][break]
Kaede looked around the field and back at Yusuke. She wanted to ask him how the last two years had been for him but she knew better than to ask. He’d bring it up when he was ready. “So, what do you want to do now that you’re home?”
[attr="class","wonderFoot"]i've never seen anybody do the things you do before
Kaede gasped at the guy’s words before looking to her left and right at the pair of shinobi that had flanked her defensively. “I don’t want you to die and I don’t want me to die either… Not for the Village anyways. Maybe for the people. A village is made up of buildings and tunnels and we can replace that but I don’t think people can be replaced, not really, ya know?” She glanced around nervously looking for support before raising her hood self-consciously. It felt odd to voice her opinion to these older kids and she backpedaled quickly. “What do I know though?”[break][break]
She was suddenly very interested in a crack in the floor that she tried to catch the toe of her shoe on. The gentle hum of insects seemed to swell in the space around her but thankfully the general din of the tunnel was enough to mostly cover it.
[attr="class","wonderFoot"]i've never seen anybody do the things you do before
Kaede’s skin buzzed as she stumbled off the front stoop of her family’s townhouse and burst into a full on sprint. The cinnamon pastry being held in her teeth flopped around awkwardly and she ended up with a little dollop of white frosting on her nose as she tugged the sleeve of a purple sweatshirt over one arm. The girl had been a bundle of nerves last night, tossing and turning in her bed and when she finally closed her eyes they had remained that way for too long![break][break]
She’d overslept but hopefully with her rushing she could still make it in time. Yūsuke was back after two long years and they had a lot of catching up to do! It wasn’t as if she hadn’t had her own life to live but she’d never forgotten him and she’d never stopped worrying about her dear friend out there doing the really dangerous work. She was terribly fretful. What if he resented her for not going with him? His family expected so much more from him. What if she didn’t even recognize him after all he’d been through?[break][break]
Her footfalls crunched against the fallen leaves and she was there before she was really ready and there he was snoozing in the grass as if nothing had changed. Her heart skipped a beat. [break][break]
Kaede took a deep breath and cleared her throat, “Hi.” [break][break]
[attr="class","wonderFoot"]i've never seen anybody do the things you do before
“Ohhkay~” Kaede responded with a skeptical raising of an eyebrow. She liked to think that she was as patriotic as any other shinobi (besides this guy, obviously) but this level of fanaticism was a bit much for her. The genin wasn’t sure why she cared. She should really just walk by like everyone else. “I’m a Sound Ninja too. This place is my home and I’ll defend it when I need to but what is it that you want these people to do exactly?” [break][break]
Kaede had already started thinking up responses before he had a chance to say anything else. She wondered how big a hit it would be to the old man’s pride if she told him how uncool he sounded right now. He needed to chill out. Maybe if he picked up a hobby he wouldn’t have time to block up the tunnels with his preaching. It was easy to get swept up in this die-for-your-country stuff. She’d seen it before and it never ended pretty.
[attr="class","wonderFoot"]i've never seen anybody do the things you do before
The teen scooped up a handful of soggy sand and tossed it on a growing mound beside her. Kaede sat cross legged on the beach staring out at the waves as they washed up and drew back in perfect natural rhythm. She straightened out her right leg and dug her toes into the sand playfully. There really wasn’t anything like this back home and she breathed deep the salty breeze that rustled the rich honey coils piled up in a messy bun that crowned her queen of the day. There was nothing that could shake her mood today. Not even the mess she hoped would be a sand castle at some point. [break][break]
She stood up and brushed her hands together, sand falling like chalk dust brought up memories of the academy and the friends she’d made there. A small grin tugged at the corner of her lips and she mosied over to the water to rinse off. Kaede splashed into the water, kicking the waves absentmindedly until the water rose above her knees. She didn’t want to have to wait for her shorts to dry so she bent down and washed her hands. As she straightened up she caught sight of a stranger swimming further out. He looked about her age so she smiled and waved in a friendly manner.
[attr="class","wonderFoot"]i've never seen anybody do the things you do before
She was practically buzzing with excitement as she ran barefoot down the tunnel. Kaede was headed to meet up with some friends who liked to loiter in front of the confectionery shop. There were sure to be plenty of whispered inside jokes and way too loud giggles. Her heart fluttered at the thought and a brilliant smile spread across her face like the dawn of a new day. The girl weaved her way through the crowd, ducking under carried crates and narrowly dodging wild elbows, the lush blonde coils rolled into a messy bun bobbing all the while. [break][break]
Her pace slowed as she heard an impassioned voice cutting through the crowd and she approached with her hands in the pockets of her thin sweatshirt. The voice sounded familiar but she couldn’t quite place it and she couldn’t see over the people in front of her, foot traffic nearly grinding to a halt due to the presence of this evangelical shinobi. She finally pushed her way to the front while the crowd dispersed and she watched the man for a moment, her gold doe eyes fixed only on him until he finally seemed to take notice. “What’s all this about then?” [break][break]
[attr="class","wonderFoot"]i've never seen anybody do the things you do before
Kaede Aburame is a teenager who enjoys spying on her neighbors, gardening, and building little homes for her insect friends. She is a resourceful and inventive girl who is always a little bit lazy and when she is home she spends a lot of time thinking up easier ways to do her chores. She doesn’t like confrontation but is supportive of her friends even if from a distance.
The Aburame genin was raised to be fiercely loyal to her clan and to the sound village. A few weeks after her birth she underwent a ritual to become a host to a small hive of kidaichū beetles. Her father was a ninja and together they practiced using her beetles whenever he wasn’t too busy. She performed well at the ninja academy where she made quite a few friends and she enjoys hanging around their homes or wandering the streets of the village. The atmosphere of her own home had become very tense and shortly after graduating and becoming a genin her parents separated. Her father moved out but she spends every other weekend with him if he isn’t on a mission.
Proficiencies
Taijutsu [Rookie] Kaede went through the ninja academy where she was trained in hand to hand combat. She is able to defend herself against basic attacks by dodging or deflecting blows. She can land a punch on a still target if she has to but prefers not to get too close.
Shurikenjutsu [Rookie] Kaede is trained in the use of simple weapons common to shinobi. She practices daily with the hopes of improving her aim.
Stealth [Rookie] Kaede has the ability to go unnoticed by most in a crowded room and she knows how to stay out of an enemies line of sight. She was taught how to hide and move without drawing attention during her time at the academy.
Aburame Clan [Rookie] Kaede is host to a swarm of kidaichū beetles. These tiny creatures carry out her will as needed in exchange for being allowed to feed upon her chakra. With the help of her family, she is attempting to train her insects as powerful weapons that can drain an opponent of chakra but so far they serve as little more of an annoyance.
Wood Release [Dormant] At the academy Kaede discovered that she possesses two chakra natures; earth and water. Her teacher explained she has the potential to someday combine the two elements into wood release. However, she would need to practice both precursory elements quite a bit before she would be capable of such a feat.
[attr="class","APP3"]
Percy Jackson
Kaede Aburame looks like Hazel Levesque.
Last Edit: Sept 1, 2021 1:44:18 GMT by Kaede Aburame
