![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
ficthing + pimp thing
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif){kind=small}
sarolynne just updated foxhunt~ (Naruto is in ANBU and SOMETHING is afoot. DUNDUNDUNNNNN. Yay mission and tensions and things that go wrong in pretty "ohfuck" ways. What really makes this fic, though, is the mood. Which is awesome. Like everything Saro writes. ...Perhaps if I played with her less, she would write more. HMMMM.)new chapter: http://sarolynne.livejournal.com/152071.html (unbeta'd~)
edenfalling is looking for a beta for her Harry/Draco/Ginny threesome universe (♥)+
And here's the first half of my chuunin-people-who-spy-on-naruto thinger.
Man, is Chihei a boring sort of gal. XD I like Tebanashi, though. The point of the exercise was to figure out four people who are as different to each other as possible in personality and motives, while still being the kind of chuunin who is ready at anytime for short surveillance missions. (seeing as the Council and Tsunade are still playing tug'o'war with the Naruto surveillance thing, they can't take people for long-term missions, and that probably doesn't pay as well.)
They're running in reverse chronological order. I'm still not sure where I'm going to stick the third, but the last one is going to be the one who was on watch during The Night. huhuhuhuhu. >D
Ikko Chihei is washing the dishes in her small, sunny kitchen when the messenger lands on her fence. She waves hello and smiles pleasantly, and dries her hands with a dishtowel, so as not to get the letter wet. She offer the boy a biscuit, while he waits in her doorstep for her to read the missive, but he declines sternly, almost offended; she thinks that his mother must be equal parts proud and sad. He's only a couple of years older than her own daughters. Hopefully, she thinks as she dismisses him, it will be a few years before he graduates to real ninja work.
Chihei puts the dishes to dry on the rack; she likes to wipe them dry, to make sure there are no smudges, but not today. Her daughters' snack is done; she writes quick instructions on how to cook dinner, in case she doesn't come back for a while, and signs it with a little smiley face. It goes on the fridge, surrounded by magnets.
She takes off her apron, puts on her coat, picks up her wicker basket, and makes her way to the Administration building to sign the contract for her newest mission. It's a good thing that she hasn't done her shopping yet.
The contract is standard -- uncomplicated surveillance work, C-rank, paid by the hour, bumped up to B-rank if anything noteworthy happens, possibility of a bonus -- and she signs it, satisfied. The Chuunin in charge of the missions asks her if she wishes to be notified again next time, and she accepts with a smile. It's not paid much, but it's easy money.
There will be a moment where the target is unsupervised; but she cannot be so blatant toward the Jounin-sensei for whom she is taking over, it would be disrespectful to the extreme. Hopefully, the target will follow his projected reaction and be easily found at one of his three most likely destinations; if he doesn't, well, maybe she will earn a B-rank pay today.
The streets in this residential area tend to be rather empty at this time of the day, but Chihei finds a nice little dango shop on a corner and nurses her tea for a half-hour; eventually, her wait pays off. The target and his teammate -- the male one -- pass her by without noticing her, bantering as is typical of them; she watches their progression up the open staircase to the last floor, until they disappear in the apartment at the end of the gallery.
She goes ahead and buys pasta and flour at the grocery shop next door; the young men were so dirty from training that she doesn't expect her target back outside before the fifteen minutes needed for a shower and a change of clothes.
It takes him twenty-five; she wonders if reporting every argument really is necessary. The boys bicker often, and always fiercely. Presumably this one time isn't more significant. She keeps it in mind anyway, in case it is needed later to interpret possible repercussions.
One thing that nicely facilitates her job is the habit of her target to think out loud when he is frustrated. She takes note in the back of her mind, 'make yourself useful', and something about 'the house'. She will cross-reference later with her coworkers' reports. For now, she pays for her purchases and leaves the shop, with her basket in hand, and follows.
The target meets up with a friend, a Hyuuga around his age. She watches for signs of premeditation, but if there are any, either they are on the friend's part or her target has been playing her for months. Assuming so without proof is counterproductive, so she doesn't.
There are some pretty things on sale along the street, and the windows are clean and reflect every shift of expression nicely. The conversation starts with banter, and then turns more serious. The Hyuuga boy will no doubt notice her if she tries to read on their lips; so she writes off the conversation as a loss, and just makes sure to keep aware of the target's position.
Chihei buys some carrots, apples, a few pretty kid's t-shirts -- they were on sale -- and three pairs of panties. Then she takes off her coat, which she drapes over her wicker basket, pulls the hairpin from her tight bun so that her hair falls in waves down her back, and strides confidently in the direction the target was waving at. The library, he said, so she goes to the help desk and sees about renewing her daughters' cards. The target strolls in after a minute; she keeps track of his slow drift through the sets of shelves in the window over the librarian's head as they chatter amiably.
She loses him for a minute; when he reappears, he's conspicuously keeping his back to the restricted areas. Hm. Perhaps she will earn a B-rank pay today.
She disappears in the restroom, comes back out without her bag, hidden behind the water heater, with her hair pulled into a ponytail, a quick touch of rouge on her lips; now she's a secretary.
She loses him in the corridors; she can't waltz past all the security checks with as much ease as he does. She even has to show her mission orders to a guard; and then she has to consider what kind of reason she could invent to follow him up to the Hokage's floor. Perhaps she should accept that he's close enough to be considered under the Hokage's watch, and not hers. She doesn't think she should assume, though, and if there is one place where he shouldn't be left to run unchecked -- especially since he seems to be on a classified-information borrowing spree -- it is here, inside the Administrative building's most private levels.
"Don't you worry about that, little lady," a low voice purrs in her ear. Chihei doesn't jump; her training is better than that. She bows, though, when she recognizes the man who sneaked up on her.
Jiraiya-sama of the Sannin smiles winsomely at her. His attention is already elsewhere. She isn't too surprised at her failure to hold his interest; her face is only banally pleasant and her figure slim everywhere, especially in the wrong places, and Jiraiya-sama's spy network is leagues beyond her own. She bows again when he suggests generously that she make sure her bag isn't stolen, and then she goes back to the library.
Her hair into a bun again, she finds a seat in the shade of a tree, and gazes at the building; the windows reflect the sun and she can't see anything.
Hm. It would be interesting to figure out who placed the boy under surveillance; Jiraiya-sama visibly didn't want him to be, at least not by anyone not answering directly to him. It would be interesting, if she had any interest in the goings-on of the higher levels. But she is a part-time ninja only. As a Chuunin, she does her job, writes her report -- and if it ends up edited out by one party before it can reach the second party, she doesn't feel that she necessarily should know. Besides, sneaking information past a Legendary Sannin should not be anything less than rank A, and she did not sign up for that.
She waits. When the target comes back outside, he is accompanied by his second teammate, the female one. They pass by her without giving her a second look; they're concentrated on each other. Medical jutsu, friendly teasing -- ah. She sees.
Young love. Precious. Chihei allows herself a short-lived smile; her lips keep the position easily, even as she detaches from the moment of empathy. Eventually, the girl will learn to choose the object of her crushes better.
The target doesn't come across as a deeply warped person, and Chihei is sure that, to some, his open heart, enthusiasm and frankness would by far outweigh his complete lack of tact, manners and restraint. But he is what he is, and that won't ever change, nor will change the consequences of it. It is a sad thing, for sure, and painfully unfair; but it is here to stay, and most people outgrow their youthful rage at the natural unfairness of the world eventually.
Danger and rebellion, she muses as she buys herself an umbrella, make the fire of infatuation roar higher; but a firestorm does not make for a warm hearth.
She knows that the narrow alley in which they just dodged is a dead end; so she leaves them to their activities, allowing them a measure of privacy that, engrossed in each other, they probably wouldn't even notice losing. She finds a staircase to wait under, and allows herself to wonder if her daughters have eaten yet, and if perhaps her husband is home early.
+
That ghost limb thing sure isn't making his training any easier. Fusoroi Tebanashi rubs his jaw and glares at his cousin. The little witch is laughing at him.
"Oh, shut up and start throwing again, you pest."
She rolls her eyes and picks up another armful of rock, and he reminds himself that the goal of the exercise is to catch them all with his remaining hand, not his face.
"Oi, Teba-niisan! Get down, there's a mission for you!"
Tebanashi narrowly dodges the rock, and ends up on his ass. Stupid balance is shot to hell, and his almost-but-not-quite-healed leg doesn't help. He would get back up and try to salvage some dignity, but he heard the magic word. Mission! He scrambles to the edge of the roof and looks in the courtyard below. "What kind of mission?"
"Oi, oi, why do you think I know? Like I would ever read a shinobi's secret assignments!"
Tebanashi rolls his eyes, even as he vaults over the ledge, grabs the gutter with his remaining hand and both feet, and lets himself skid down three stories. "Uhuh, sure! Now what's the mission?"
Tekkiri is trying to look innocent when he lands, but Tebanashi wasn't born yesterday. The brat gets a good bop on the head.
...One day, Tebanashi will remember to use his left hand, the one he still has, because every time he puts his stump in full view, there's a fraction of second where his little brother's expression twists. But then he's never going to accept that this is now the way his body is if his family doesn't accept it as well. So he nudges his forehead protector up with it, while snapping his fingers imperiously.
"So? Cough it up, brat."
Tekkiri huffs and gives out the unrolled missive. "Surveillance, again."
Tebanashi grins. "Well, that's better than sorting out scrolls."
"Yeah, I bet it is. Must be hard to do that when you can't read -- ow!"
Rolled again, the paper makes a nice thwack over his little brother's head. "Respect your elders, brat."
"Brat this, brat that. I've got a name, you know."
"You do, really?" Ignoring the irritated answer with the ease of a long habit, Tebanashi reads the mission statement. Thank the gods it's not one of the missions requiring subtlety or infiltration. He sucks, at genjutsu and at blending in both. But then a scar-covered, teal-haired hand-to-hand specialist shouldn't be expected to.
" I hope you're gonna get good money for that."
"Eh, it's only C-rank."
"It says B here!" Tekkiri protests.
Tebanashi hits him with the rolled-up letter again. "Don't read my top-secret mission statements, damn it!"
"It's your fault for being too illiterate for them to send it in code!"
Tebanashi's legs work just fine, twinge of soreness from the new scars or not. He sweeps Tekkiri's legs out, and then his foot scythes down at his sprawled brother. He's proud when Tekkiri rolls back into a defensive crouch and blocks at the last second.
He still presses his palm over the kid's forehead and sends him rolling ass over head, before smugly making his way to the missive he dropped and picking it up.
"It's only gonna be B-rank if something bad happens, but it won't, so whatever."
"How d'you know that, anyway? I mean, you're watching over some bad guy, aren't you? There's gotta be a risk."
His little brother is almost two years younger than Tebanashi's target. He doesn't know. He's not allowed to. "Eh, maybe," Tebanashi agrees, turning away. "Make yourself useful, go get me my jacket."
One day, Tekkiri will realize that his big brother is shamelessly exploiting his 'must be nice to the poor cripple' streak, and then he will yell and pounce and fight him properly again; in the meantime, Tebanashi is going to keep demanding as many things as he can get away with, and more. Perhaps the silly brat will stop feeling guilty for daring to still have all his limbs.
-----------
When he hears from the guy giving him his briefing that yes, something did happen with his 'bad guy', Tebanashi is rather surprised. Blondie is a total brat, and apparently he's got some weird pimp vibes going on that make Tebanashi want to barricade his female relatives, and sometimes he does his creepy sleepwalk thing and roams all over the village, and okay, that's freaky... But he's not actively vicious or anything, and Tebanashi automatically approves of anyone who's that tenacious with their training. Hearing that he was connected to a house catching on fire is unexpected.
But, yeah. Tebanashi makes a detour on his way to Blondie and Grouchy's apartment, and they tell him that this blackened, smoking hole in the ground was a house, but it's kinda hard to believe Blondie was responsible for it. Nah, he'd do his Kage Bunshin trick -- and hasn't Tebanashi figured out three bazillion ways to get around that by now -- and mow it down, but fire is more of a Grouchy thing.
Now Grouchy is the kind of guy who'd deserve to be under surveillance. He's all dark and broody and shifty, and he's not too trustworthy, from what the rumor mill says. But apparently he's not watched at all. Anymore. Or only outside the village, maybe. Tebanashi doesn't know, that's B-rank at least, and he's just not sneaky enough to get the job.
Sometimes he wonders what a nice girl like Cutie did to deserve to be saddled with the two of them. It must have been horrible. That or she's the only one in their age group that's saintly enough to deal with the both of them.
In any case, he thinks as he settles down on a roof, hiding in the shadow of a wall, if he were the owner of that apartment building, he'd double Blondie and Grouchy's security deposit on the spot. Not that the apartments are that nice, but they're going to be a hell of a lot worse as charred ruins.
For a half-hour, nothing happens. Gnnh, boring. The blinds are closed, so he can't even look inside the apartment. He does stretches, instead, slow and methodical, working on his balance and stretching the scar tissue. He can't move as fast as he really wants to move; if they were watching from a crack in the blinds, they'd see him right away, and then his supervisor would dock his pay. ...Though he could always pretend that he was trying to go incognito. Who'd think that someone shadow-boxing on a roof is a spy, right?
... Okay, so no one would actually do anything suspicious enough to report when they know for sure that someone else is watching, even someone who doesn't seem to care. Damn it. Stretches it is. He'll keep the idea for the next time they're on a public training field.
Tebanashi is in the middle of a spread-eagle crouch when the front door opens, and almost lands on his ass. Okay, time to stop goofing off. He hunkers down in the shadows, and pulls out his binoculars.
And then, as Grouchy is turned away, locking the door, Blondie looks up at him and waves. Tebanashi can's miss the wide, beaming grin directed his way. He swears, quite a lot, even as he flattens himself on the roof. The binoculars threaten to fall over the edge; somehow he manages to slap them down with his stump, and scrambles to get them back over his eyes.
/...so funny?/ Grouchy is asking.
Oh, shit.
/-- still annoyed ... boobs conversation?/
/Only if you start it again./
Blondie is trudging down the stairs, his arm around Grouchy's shoulders, utterly unconcerned. Tebanashi slumps in relief and starts to laugh. Well, damn. That kid is such a brat.
One of these days, maybe he'll wave back.
no subject
no subject
Yeah, I like the crippled ninja's concept. He's working hard to be battle-worthy again, even though there's a good chance he'll never be at his old level. ...But then maybe he'll be even BETTER. Aw. XD
I see you're figuring out your livejournal. If you need help, don't hesitate to ask, seriously. I don't mind. ^^ (oooh. Your icons are so pretty)
no subject
no subject
no subject
The way that Chihei always refers to Naruto as 'the target' is chilling in a quiet way, though it fits well with her subtle professional paranoia. It's interesting how she and Tebanashi have different coping mechanisms and styles of dealing with family and business, but both have that underlying acceptance of the way things are, an acceptance of surveillance and paranoia, of loss and death.
I definitely want to read your next two chuunin spy profiles!
no subject
Yeah, the goal really was to have them as different as possible. So Tebanashi likes Naruto because he's optimistic and stubborn, one of the other ones dislikes him, and the last two are more or less neutralish.
Chihei really is kinda creepy when you think about it. She's so nice and ordinary, but she can detach from her feelings so easily. brr. Her concept was "clear separation between in-group and out-group", and she'd die for her family, but the rest of the world only rate surface pleasantness at best. @.@
I'm working on it! ^__^ The third has a bloodline limit, though, and I'm not sure where in the fic it would work best. *ponderponder* What point of the story would be good to see through outsider eyes...? ~____~;;;
no subject
no subject
more seriously, there's no chuunin around during that night, and I'm going in reverse chronological order anyway. Tebanashi and Chihei are both in chapter 6, and the last one is going to be during The Night, so I have the rest of the fic to choose from, but I still have no idea. x_x
no subject
no subject
Chihei is definitely *brrr*. I look forward to seeing more of the story from the outside viewpoint. :)
no subject
*^^* thankies! What scenes would you want to see most, do you have any idea?
no subject
Hmm. *thinks* Well you already have a bit post meltdown, but how about on the way to the Haruno's for dinner? Seeing Sakura drag her boys into the greenhouse (and, if the greenhouse is anything like what I grew up with, what's going on in the greenhouse) could be fun. And the fussing over hair outside the door. :)
no subject
no subject
Hopefully there's something good in there.
no subject
Thanks hon, they're great ideas ^______^
no subject
I'm forcing myself to not re-read looking for ideas, I have too much to get done at the moment. :)
no subject
no subject
no subject
Sometimes he wonders what a nice girl like Cutie did to deserve to be saddled with the two of them. It must have been horrible. That or she's the only one in their age group that's saintly enough to deal with the both of them.
Yeah. XD
no subject
no subject
Would there be vampires?no subject
Maybe i'd post Teamwork more often.
Yeah, right. >D
but we can PLAY vampires, isn't that even better? D:no subject
Well, there is that. XD And it's always good. But... vampirefic... *.*no subject
Chihei I wouldn't want to know. She seems... very detached from what is actually happening. No real curiosity about what's going on, almost like she doesn't really consider "the target" human. Of course, in that village, maybe she doesn't...
Anyway, I really like these. I'm looking forward to seeing their perspectives on some of the other events. I second the ring-buying, and maybe some of the conversations with Iruka right before...? You know, when Sasuke's kinda on the outs with both Naruto and Sakura. Could be cool to see that from someone else's point of view.
Adi
no subject
Chihei is kinda subtly freaky like that, yeah. x_x Her people are real to her, but everyone else isn't, not quite. mmm compartimentalizing.
*^___^* thank you! And hrrmmm that does sound interesting. *ponderponder*
no subject
I also like the way that tebanashi clearly had a clue that naruto was maybe not The Big Bad, whereas chihei just as clearly didn't care. They make interesting foils for eachother.
Also, looking forward to seeing what you do with the bloodline-viewpoint, and maybe what they think of the uchiha and the politics side of things? Or that'd be cool anyway
no subject
no subject
As a Chuunin, she does her job, writes her report -- and if it ends up edited out by one party before it can reach the second party, she doesn't feel that she necessarily should know.
Historically speaking, this is scary. Also I find myself really really disliking based on the last few things she thinks, and Eventually, the girl will learn to choose the object of her crushes better. (which is also funny, because some would argue that Naruto's actually a step up from Sasuke on the returning-the-feeling ground.)
I think that the scariest thing about her is how distantly benevolent she makes herself out to be. O_O
Tebanashi, on the other hand, is love. Looooooove. In the way that I lack words for him. The cripple-concept was a great idea, and Tebanashi trying to have his brother stop feeling guilty is heart-breaking (my older-siblingness is so showing) though I'm not sure he's actually going at it the most effective way, but it's his brother so he probably knows him better than I do.
His nicknames for the team are priceless - and his interpretation of Sakura as 'saintly' is chokelaughdie. And his mention of Naruto's pimp vibes! (Asuka, I'm lovin' you so freakin' hard for that.)
And Naruto waving at him! ftw! (Behind Sasuke's back, who'd otherwise have a freak out in the form of a quasi-sulk so bad!) Just whew that it was Tebanashi he waved at. I have the feeling some others wouldn't find the situation so funny, and would probably make a nasty report out of it.
I'm happily waiting for the two others (and omg so happy you wrote those. Happy happy happy. Background-ness! OCs-about-main-characters! Life in a ninja village! Hints at politics! Teamwork! BBQ!)
no subject
Also, I'm trying to picture the sort of nasty remark this would engender: "Target waved in a friendly and non-threatening manner. I recommend immediate disposal of target and all associates." *fails*
no subject
I was thinking in terms of "Target's awareness of being watched growing. I recommend doubling the usual security measures." except more pointed and heavier with 'the Kyuubi knows it's being watched and it knows where and when and by whom' undertones.
no subject
My immediate response to that is "But that would be the most retarded thing in the history of ever!" but you know? I think you have a point, and that there are people who might put down something like that. ^.^;
no subject
Well, she does think that Naruto is a nice boy in some ways, he's just unfortunately not appropriate for anything but an affair. u.u
I think that the scariest thing about her is how distantly benevolent she makes herself out to be.
Oooh nice formulation here ♥ thank you~
Tebanashi sucks at psychology, so he's doing the best he can and hoping it will work at some point. XD;;; Thinking about subtle emotional things just isn't his forte. At least he's sincere in what he does, which counts for a lot.
Yeeah, most of the other ones wouldn't appreciate the funny of the situation. XD But then, Naruto wouldn't find most of the other ones. Tebanashi sucks at stalking. The others have more tricks up their sleeves. Naruto is never going to notice Chihei, for example, seeing as she really just only gives off that "normal housewife buying her groceries" vibe and looks very ordinary. XD;;