Yue couldn’t believe someone her age, someone she went to school with, was already a Chuunin. Well, she could believe it. It wasn’t as though she had been on any missions yet or had really done anything in her shinobi career. Partly it was the Hokage’s fault for not assigning a mission to her or getting her on a platoon sooner but it was also partly her own fault for not actually going to the Hokage tower herself and requesting work. If she had, maybe she would be the other Chuunin for this squad alongside Ryota.
“Well, it’s a pleasure to be working with you! Looks like we’ll have plenty of time to get to know one another as we work together.”
Immediately after her introduction, the rest of the motley crew trickled in. It was a mix of delight and dread. This was like a bad dream, well maybe not a bad dream, but something very deja vu like considering everyone here other than Ryota had had a recent interaction with one another. Nori had been her friend since childhood, so that was fine, and the young Kaede she had just met the other day around town. Yue could tell she was shy and introverted but seemed to really have a good head on her shoulders. The he came out as well, acting so smug with that smile and introduction.
Tou. Of all people and of all combinations to be put on a platoon together. It’s going to be like that day in the square every day going forward now I bet. Nori challenging Tou, Kaede playing peacekeeper, Tou spouting his nonsense, and then me with my sharp tongue. Ryota and the other lead shinobis are going to have their work cut out for them…
That’s when, as if on cue, their Jounin captain Oda came down from above to address them all. The other Chuunin for the platoon was still not here, but she supposed, as leader, Oda couldn’t and wouldn’t wait any longer. But she liked him regardless. Don’t follow his orders to a T? Take his advice but think on their own? The amount of self growth and teamwork that would inspire between them all would be profound! Even for someone like Tou. The other question was as obvious though as Ryota made it sound when he responded.
Top priority in a mission huh…?
“Well sir, I would have to agree with Ryota. Top priority would be to finish the mission successfully & with little to no casualty.” she started, nodding to Ryota as she spoke before seeming to mull over something else for a moment and then speaking again. ”At the same time though, I feel as though keeping each other safe as well overall would increase the chance of a successful mission completion.”
“Don’t be an idiot, Nori. Zeal strokes the ego and pride of others and causes them to react terribly; all it does is make you look just as silly as the one who started it.” Yue would say this while holding up an arm to block Noriyuki from doing anything stupid in public like this against another Otogakure not Sato resident. He was her friend and she wasn’t about to let him do something like that and while she wouldn’t have minded watching this fountain mouth of a man get tossed around a bit, that wasn’t their place.
Turning her attention back to the speaker at hand, she simply shook her head at him. “No one here needs to prove anything to you; they simply need to prove themselves to our Hokage and what she wants from us. You have no say.” He couldn’t have been anyone of importance. She didn’t recognize him as a delegate or a nobleman or a politician. He wasn’t recognizable as a shinobi either as most Jounin with sway were people she’d at least be aware of. Yue was not aware of this man or his importance; or rather the lack of.
Much in the same vein that the man was thinking, unbeknownst to her anyway, but the opposite, she saw that a crowd was beginning to form and wasn’t a fan of that. Press is press regardless of whether or not it is good or bad. "I would just like to see you do something. There is a reason that the saying 'actions speak louder than words' has such an impact. But right now that is all you are; words."
She said this loud enough to where anyone in the immediate area would hear; that anyone in the forming crowd would hear, and specifically of course it would ring loud and clear for the man before her. Turning away from the man and towards the younger girl she would reach up to gently remove her hood, if she allowed her, otherwise she wouldn’t press the gesture. “Never hide who you are from someone like that; stick to what your truth is and fight for what you believe in.” With a smile she motioned for Noriyuki to step aside once more as if to reinforce her earlier statement to him with every intention to begin to walk away from this fool of a man.
There was a tickle though in the back of her brain how he could easily use her words against her. Talk about her words and lack of action. But that would be fine.
In that case it would be TWO example of words without action; proof that nothing can get done that way.
While she hadn't been a Genin long enough to have much experience, she had still graduated with enough time under her belt where she felt as though she would have been placed within a platoon; or at least a small team. Today was that day, or so it seemed. It seemed rather rushed, like perhaps it wasn't the original intent of whatever today's meeting was about originally, but Yue received the missive to meet at one of the many connecting tunnel spots scattered throughout the adjoining compounds of Otogakure no Sato. This one in specific she knew to be a training ground.
Of course she would come prepared with the supplies necessary as if she were to be going out on a mission; bladed fans attached to her hips especially necessary considering her training. After all, she had to remained prepared to look like a professional and show her worth. She would only assume it wouldn't just be Genin gathering today, but likely the Chuunin team leaders and perhaps even their Jounin Captain. As she continued on her path, she couldn't help but fiddle with the ends of her long blonde hair.
I shouldn't be nervous but I am. Persevere through it. Remain strong. Stand out. Excel.
Yue exited one of the connecting tunnels to the training ground, passing by a hanging bouquet of flowers as she did. This brought a little smile to her face as she knew it was one of many she had taken the time to gather and hang around the village. She felt her stomach flutter with nerves as she spotted a boy that looked to be her age or at least somewhere around it. His face was familiar though she couldn't recall his name. Despite this, she steeled her gaze and let a smile stretch across her face as she raised her hand into a small wave as a greeting.
"I suppose you are a part of Platoon 1?" She started, eyeing the boy as she started to get closer. "Yue Fujii. I'm sure we've met at some point but I apologize; I don't seem to recall who you are. But it's a pleasure either way." The distance between the two was closed leisurely and when she had approached close enough, she outstretched her hand to offer to the boy in order to shake his own, if he offered back.
The clatter of steel echoed in the small clearing. Blades clanked off one another as they hit the ground, only somewhat cushioned and sound muffled by the tufts of grass beneath them. Collapsing down onto her knees, Yue leaned forward onto her hands, head hanging low. Her long blonde hair obscured most, if not all of her face as she silently cried. One hand had balled itself around one of those same tufts of grass while the other shakily grasped a hold of one of her bladed fans. The other was behind her, being the source of the clattering moments earlier. Through blurred vision she looked down at the cloth pattern stitched low between the blades that made her weapon what it was.
Wisteria flowers.
Yue stared at her name sake, the meaning of her family name, and how that meaning meant nothing as long as she stayed on the ground like this. She was smart, but she wasn't spent. Just a little longer. Just a little further. Push forward even by the slightest increment. Stay ahead of her peers. They were her own words and the words of her parents echoing in unison as she pushed herself back onto her feet, turning around in the process to grab the other fan she had dropped. Inhaling and holding her breath for a few moments, Yue remained focused and waited for her exhale to finish before she would begin her dance.
There was an elegance to the way she was attempting to fight. Clear and precise pivots on her feet mixed with poetic movements and turns of her body while her arms reached out to slice with the blades of her fans. Turning on her heel once more, she slashed low before going on to spin one fan around like a disc, creating a pinwheel like effect with it as she lunged upwards as if to slice through her imaginary foe. This was where the mistake happened last time as the opposite fan then needed to be clasped shut into a singular, thick bladed weapon more used for bludgeoning. The intent was to clasp it shut and then immediately clack it open to slice horizontally.
Another clatter. Another dropped fan. Yue standing completely still and straight in the clearing.
I need to be strong. I need to be better. I can't let anyone show me up. I can't!
Quietly, she gathered fan and folded the both of them to put away. Cobalt eyes seemed more gray than blue in this moment as she moved to the edge of the clearing to sit against one of the many trees. Though steely eyed with a blank and flat affect face, Yue fondly remembered how she and her classmates would train in this very clearing and how she would always win against those in her year.
"But never anyone older. Average indeed."
Last Edit: Sept 17, 2021 20:43:17 GMT by Yue Fujii
There has been some upstart spouting radical views for a bit now. Yue had been on her way to leave the main encampment of Otogakure no Sato in order to head into the northern parts of the forest to pick flowers. She always thought that bringing back bouquets of flowers and hanging them where she could through the interconnecting tunnels of the village would help lift spirits, bring people together, and just help the place to seem less militaristic and more like home for many. What better way to spread your name, to be known by all, and be important to all then to not only do well on missions, fight for your village, overcome enemies, but also boost morale in other ways too. Happiness and high spirits can keep any normal person happier much longer than those in the shinobi world. Their support meant just as much as those victories that this guy was spouting off about.
One of the people listening, a girl seemingly a few years younger than herself, had been speaking up to the man spouting his propaganda and challenged him about what he wanted her to do, that she too loved her village and would fight for it. But what was he expecting from these people? He didn't know how to respond so he pointed somebody out of the crowd and trapped them in would should have been a rhetorical question. She was going to speak up for the man but it happened much faster than anticipated; including the inclusion of her friend Noriyuki inserting himself into the situation to also challenge the man's beliefs. Though, Nori wasn't exactly the best one suited for this as his grudge against the entirety of every nation that wasn't the original Konohagakure was sometimes...misplaced.
Damn it Nori, don't start something you can't finish.
Shaking her head, she pushed through the very, very small cluster of people who bothered to stay as most were just passing the man by. Not acknowledging Nori at the moment, she moved next to the other girl who had spoken up to him. Folding her arms over her chest and looking the man up and down she would smile and seemingly nod in agreement with him. "You are so proud and true to Otogakure no Sato! I can't wait to see the glory that you bring to all of us. So tell me, sir, what will you do next? How will you slaughter our enemies? How will you die for our country? What are you going to do that isn't 'just defending'?" Yue gestured out to the general amount of people passing by before gesturing back to him. "You seem to want to ask a lot of people passing you by rather than petitioning to the Hokage to be sent out onto the front lines yourself. Are you a coward then? Wanting to rile others to fight in your place for the glory of Otogakure?"
Yue always found it funny how exasperated Nori got whenever she would point out the obvious. Much as he said she should be used to him coming to visit her like this, she could easily say the same thing in return. He should be used to her calling it like she saw it and saying what most wouldn't dare to say to someone else for various reasons. It could be too blunt, too real, too much digging into a situation, or just forcing someone to confront how they felt about something. Whatever it was, Yue likely was the one to call it out. Thankfully, she had SOME tact with it, or so she felt anyway. She was doing them the favor after all by pointing something out when it needed to be.
Oh Nori, it really isn't that hard...
She listened to him speak, obviously keeping eye contact to show that she was listening, because she was, but he could likely see the near steel gaze she was giving in return. "Well, Nori, if I recall, you already have a prime example of what you can do." She gestured to where they sat. "And I don't mean coming here. Instead of getting up and leaving home to make the trek here, you could just knock on her door. See if she's up. Even though you already know she is." Yue paused, reaching out to clutch onto the Uchiha's shoulder though not roughly, but sternly. "Sometimes just sitting near someone helps. Wouldn't you say?" Again, she would make comparison to their current situation though this time just tilting her head and rolling her eyes down to insinuate his actions now.
"Not to be that person Nori but I'm sure there are a lot of things you wish you could say to your father and now you can't. Don't have similar regrets with your mother. It's different, way different, I know. But the simple truth is that no one stays around forever. Don't take that for granted.
Yue stared at the older boy blankly, not appreciating his matter of fact attitude towards what should be routine or something she should be used to at this point. However, she was well aware that it was just one of those things she had no control over. Last thing she needed was to try and make a boundary to which his response was to be louder or more obnoxious. Having either of her parents wake up to find Nori at her window would be disastrous. "Ah yes, leave my window unlocked so you can attempt to scare me awake or, better yet, startle me into stabbing a blade somewhere where I'm sure you would agree it doesn't belong." Obviously it was an empty threat; unless she kept her fans inside of her pajama bottoms that is.
Sliding next to her friend, Yue merely sighed and ignored the boy for a moment, looking up at the 'sky' above them. The structural design of a tunnel based system that connected all of the Otogakure no Sato compounds was intricate and impressive but it certainly left most wanting when it came to the sight of the starry sky or a clear blue sky or just to feel the rain on your skin. It was certainly possible if you left one of the tunnels to go to a space between connectors but that wasn't what they were doing now and wouldn't be what they would do this late into the night either. Though it was only a few moments of silence, she knew that Nori wouldn't have minded, if he even noticed as he, as per usual, tried to skip right by any sort of inclination that something could be wrong.
I look tired? Look at him trying to bait me. I wonder if he realizes that I'm not so quick to anger like I was when I was a little girl.
"I look tired because you found yourself unable to sleep, once again, therefore thinking that it is my due diligence to keep you company." Yue shot him a glare, though it was only brief, before her features softened again. "She was crying again, wasn't she?"
She never liked Noriyuki's father, Akira. While she never saw him or was around him much, the very few times she remembers meeting him weren't exactly the most pleasant. He was a strict man, arrogant too, something that he clearly had passed down to his son. But there was a cruelness there that she didn't see in her friend, thankfully. But when the tragedy happened shortly after graduation and Akira was no longer in this world, she remembered hearing a discussion her parents had about how Nori's mother wasn't taking it well at all. From what little Nori told her, she still wasn't taking it very well. Yue could only imagine what and how Nori felt about it all, the confliction of losing a parent but also the freedom that came from being away from your abuser. It must be a strange dynamic to have to navigate.
Sleep was one of those things that Yue considered to be integral, important, and having the same weight as a good day of training. In comparison to some of her peers who thought sleep was a waste of time, she thought otherwise. How could she smartly and correctly train? Interact with others? Be at the pinnacle of what her mind and body would allow? How could she do any of that without sleep? Tonight was no different. For various reasons. One of those reasons? Noriyuki.
They had met forever ago, when they were still children and since then they had been inseparable! Well, that's how her mother would describe it. More often than not one of them would seek the other out simply due to the fact that they were one of few who could tolerate one another. With her perfectionism and his arrogance it was a oddly complimentary friendship that allowed both to push on and be the best they could be. Cheering each other on without cheering each other on. So to speak. But there were times where Noriyuki would come to her in the middle of the night, especially after receiving stealth training at the Academy years prior. It was a habit that persisted for years and apparently still to this day; or this night rather.
He knows how I hate this...
Her very first thought upon being woken up certainly wasn't a pleasant one as she rolled out of bed to quietly make herself look presentable. Quickly brushing her long blonde hair until it was straight, though it ended in waves by the ends, she then tip toed to her closet to grab a light jacket to throw over the spaghetti strap undershirt. Pajama bottoms was all Noriyuki was getting tonight though, nothing fancier than that.
Begrudgingly, she pulled the blinds open before opening her window, sighing audibly and loudly for her friend. "Yes I am awake and I already know what you've gotten me; sleep deprivation." Despite the harsh tone to her voice, she climbed out of her window to join her friend on the roof though not before mostly closing her window to ensure she had a way back in but also to dampen any noise from their voices.
Yue Fujii was nothing short of forgettable when it came to the words of her father; but not in the way one would think upon hearing that. Yue didn't hail from clan worth any note; special abilities or even just diplomatic. Her family could be traced back all the way to these lands before the fall of Konohagakure no Sato, before Otogakure became the new reigning village over Hi no Kuni. Nothing about her lineage was notable though. This was where the forgettable part came into play. She was raised on the ideal that she had to work harder than any and every one of her peers. Though the clans of old were scattered, many remained within Hi no Kuni and in Otogakure no Sato to this day. The land was known for their rich history in clan heritage. Even those who had no seemingly special qualities to them could likely be descended from one such clan. But not Yue. No matter who she was up against she needed to be better. No matter what she was doing, she needed to excel. If she couldn't excel in application? Then learn as much as she could about it in theory.
Her parents wouldn't suffer a fool nor an unversed one. Everything Yue does she puts a strong effort towards and ever since her graduation from the academy she firmly tells herself that that effort is for herself only and not for her parents. Though the jury is still out for that one. Above all else she strives for excellence for herself and for Otogakure no Sato. She can be forward, sometimes a bit blunt, and is unafraid to ask the difficult questions. This can make her seem a bit prickly or abrasive to some and just down right tactless to others however it's easy to see the intent is solely for the betterment of herself and, despite it not being outwardly shown very often, her peers. (As long as she stays slightly ahead of them).
In her spare times she enjoys reading, making flower bouquets, origami, and lacing new designs in the hilts of her fans.
Proficiencies
Taijutsu [Rookie]
Yue has become decently trained in hand to hand combat through her time at the academy. While she knows there are plenty better than she is, Yue proclaims that she has an edge that most folk wouldn't expect from someone her size and stature---especially being a girl. Yue is able to spar and fight hand to hand with other Genin while likely able to also give common folk a run for their money. Yue could likely defend herself from a robbery and come out unscathed. She aspires to one day be able to go toe to toe with just about anyone.
Tessenjutsu [Rookie]
While her peers generally based their training on kunai and shuriken she took a different approach. Starting with swords, Yue found that that type of weapon didn't flow with her style of movement, let alone complimented her want to broaden and hone her taijutsu. During a weapons training class she found the true weapon she felt most drawn to; bladed fans. During her training, she learned how to wield them properly and to use them for slashing attacks, deflecting defense, and even to use them to block and disarm incoming strikes from other weapons as well. She couldn't be sure about those outside of her graduating class, but she was confident that she was the premiere fan specialist of the bunch.
Stealth [Rookie]
Just like any other graduate from the academy, Yue was trained in the art of stealth. She was taught how to evade her assailants as well as how to fade into the shadows to stalk her prey. Or at least, that was how it was worded to her during training. In actual practical use, Yue can find the right places to hide and evade; staying out of the line of sight of most. She also has gotten use to the idea of making stealth the beginning and end of any training exercise. Despite being someone who is self-proclaimed to be a hand to hand / close quarters combatant she acknowledges and appreciates the necessity for stealth in all situations.
Suiton (Water Release) [Rookie]
Being so new to understanding one of her affinities, Yue has taken on learning her Suiton nature first. While her proficiency isn't the strongest with it yet, she certainly has felt more at home near the water than ever before. Her basic understanding of her Suiton nature allows her to be able to gently move bodies of water, walk on water with some difficulty (i.e. focused concentration), and understand her own body movement within the ebbs and flows of a waters current.
Futton (Boil Release) [Dormant]
At the academy, everyone is administered a test to see what their chakra nature is like. This ranges from their affinity or affinities and what potential they have. For Yue, she discovered that she can wield both the Katon and Suiton affinities of fire and water. What's more so, her instructor advised her to hone both in order to further unlock her potential. According to him, a dangerous power lies dormant within her.
