Seishi Festival 202: Ban and Fumetsu - 07/02/2016

== Participants ==
Kaguya Fumetsu
Nara Ban
== Seishi Festival 202: Numb Hatred ==
Guest_pxJeffTheKilleRxq: -After leaving the Memorial Grounds, Fumetsu headed straight for the festival. Although he was going to go home, he knew Akatori would want him to be there too but he never had in mind the plan of "having fun" and his expression was back to being a cold one. He heard the Kage mention the Training Grounds so that's where he went to. When he arrived he was slightly surprised by the amount of people and the change that happened to one of his training places. He did get slight flashes of the place being normal... or so you could say because he also saw a Hoshigaki and an Orochi... and a Yamanaka... the first two were training... then he spotted a Kaguya who was doing the same... while the Yamanaka was watching with interest. The moment was brief but Fumetsu put two and two together figuring it was the past... his training with his team... He narrowed his sorrowful eyes at the thought as he made his way deeper into the crowd. It didn't feel right, for Fumetsu anyway, since he wasn't a fan of crowded places. He soon put on his "emotionless mask" and looked around to see if he found anything of interest to occupy his time. He did find a stand that had masks. He found one of them quite interesting... of course it was a skeletal one. He took it and examined it, it was generally black with the white skeletal part of the lower half of the human head. The person selling the masks wasn't paying attention.-
Kare: - Moments after the Memorial for Yamanaka Akatori was concluded, Ban and his parents exited the grounds for a brief moment and returned to place a bouquet of sweet peas in front of the tombstone. They stood there for a moment with their heads bowed and eyes sealed shut in one final prayer for the loss of an ally and friend. Shortly afterwards, the trio left the grounds and Ban departed from his parents to head towards the festival while they went went their separate way to celebrate the festival with their childhood friend's. Although the yukata kimono fit him perfectly, he didn't feel comfortable wearing it, especially when it was something he wore specifically for the Memorial. Eventually Ban arrived at the Training Grounds and stood at the entrance in complete awe of its transformation. The area once filled with craters caused by explosive tags, scattered kunai and shuriken, uprooted trees and unnatural terraformed plots of land was now a luscious leveled field of healthy grass decorated with various stands selling popular local foodstuffs and items, but there was also foreign within the mix, vendors from the small neighboring villages who have been granted entry into the village, selling dishes popular in their lands and weapons that are typically not used in Amegakure or are not as popular; like puppets and oddly shaped shuriken, kunai and swords of various sizes. But that was not all! It seems that there are also games and activities for the attendees to partake in with the promise of receiving a grand prize if won or completed within a record time. As Ban made his way into the grounds, he let his eyes wander a bit, letting them absorb every bit of information within his field of view, before wandering deeper into the mix. As his eyes wandered, he caught glimpse of the boys he took care of as a mission and the harbormaster and the deckhand from the mission he took on and was partnered with Akatori to fend of a few pirates stalking the coast for outbound ships and fishing boats. The harbor harbormaster would notice Ban and gesture for him to come on over, but something else caught his attention; a white haired fella wearing a kimono similar to the one Fumetsu was wearing during the Memorial service. Ban waved at the harbormaster, letting him know he'd be on his way shortly and then approached Fumetsu, creeping up beside him and then cleared his throat, with the hopes of catching his attention, and then began to speak in a tone loud enough for only the two of them to hear. - “I can't fully understand what you must be feeling inside, but don't let those emotions define who you are…” - Ban paused for a moment and cautiously turned his head slightly to get a better view of Fumetsu’s and resumed speaking. - “I'm sure that your senses wouldn't want you to drown in your own sorrow, so you want to accompany me over to the booth over there…” - Ban pointed over to the harbormaster and his stand that seemed to be selling a variety of fish native to the lakes and rivers of this land, but also a game of sorts. - “He's an acquaintance of Akatori and me…” - Ban paused for a moment and began to walk towards the harbormaster while still facing Fumetsu and his back to the harbormaster, hoping Fumetsu would follow. -
Guest_pxJeffTheKilleRxq: -As he looked at the mask he felt someone was getting close but didn't look. He then had his answer about who it was, Ban. He began to talk about Fumetsu's feelings which kind of made him irritated.- "Do not talk about me... you know nothing, don't talk about her either... but for the sake of her and for the sake of this festival I will try not to have dark thoughts about you..." -He turned his body to face Ban, looking down at him briefly before looking over at the harbormaster who Ban pointed at. He listened to who he was.- "Not my problem... Fine, I'll come in a minute..." -He let the other go as he got the attention of the man selling the masks. He asked for how much this mask was worth and he actually bought it. After that, he held the mask in his right hand as he walked over to Ban's location, examining the irritating situation he got himself into but not showing any emotion. Meanwhile he waited for Ban to have his fun or whatever he was doing, Fumetsu was only going to help with his presence either way, he wasn't really up for anything bu then again... he never really was up for anything other than training and fighting.
Kare: - As Fumetsu agreed to join him at the harbormaster’s stand Ban smirked a bit, but quickly smudged it off of his lips just as quick as it emerged. He'd begin to wander off towards the harbormaster, keeping his eyes on Fumetsu and his other senses focused on his surroundings so he doesn't bump into anyone as he walks backwards. He noticed Fumetsu walk over to a mask vendor and take a look at his wares, but Ban couldn't bother with wearing a mask, especially not during combat, one's line of sight would be restricted. As Fumetsu purchased a mask from the vendor and walked over to Ban, Ban stopped in his tracks and pointed out the mask to Fumetsu, in hopes of getting an explanation as to why he had chosen that mask out of all that were on display. Of course Ban knew that the price of each mask must've been taken into consideration, but there was surely other masks of equal value. - “So what you got there?” - Ban asked with curiosity; it would be apparent that Ban was being more social than he normally would be when interacting with Fumetsu, it could be because of the festival and the atmosphere it has created in the once serious Training Grounds. Regardless of whether or not he received a meaningful answer, he would proceed to turn around and walk to the harbormaster, but only after getting a reply from Fumetsu. - Harbormaster: “Well look what we have here! I remember you… You helped us fend off the pirate scum… how would you two like to test your skill in catching a fish with only your hands?” - Ban looked at the pond behind the booth, then to Fumetsu and back to the harbormaster. - Ban: “I don't see why not…” Harbormaster: “Well step on in!” - Before Ban followed the harbormaster’s guidance, he took a moment to see how Fumetsu would respond to the harbormaster’s offer. -
Guest_pxJeffTheKilleRxq: -When he got back he heard Ban speak a few words. Fumetsu looked at him for a brief moment, blinking before speaking his answer.- "It's just a spare in case I damage this mask." -He shrugged his arms lightly before glancing at the harbormaster as he spoke. Fume remained silent as he followed Ban and upon hearing the offer the adult spoke up and seeing that Ban followed him, the white haired boy followed Ban closely, showing no interest in any way though. He did wonder why Ban would do such a thing since it was clearly stupid than wondered why his biggest enemy was someone who was going to a game to catch fish with his hands... he got lost in a chain of thoughts but soon snapped out of it when the harbormaster stopped and showed them a big barrel. Unfortunately for Ban, he was kind of short compared to it. It was wide so there was room for someone to stay on the surface of the water with limbs extended but it was also tall. Ban had his chest as the same height as the barrel's edge. The harbormaster laughed out laud at the adorable sight of that... Fumetsu stared blankly at the situation before making a sounds with his lips like he was about to laugh but he never did- "Pffft...." -He did however recieve a smile from seeing his nemesis in such an embarrassing situation. Once the harbormaster stopped laughing... and that was after like a minute or two, he spoke up.- "What a shame. Tell me, do you want a hand or longer legs? Hahahaha! Ah... but don't worry, I can help!" -The harbormaster quickly looked around and found a short chair he usually used to take a break. He got a hold of it quickly and put it in front of the barrel.- "There you go. Rules are simple, get as many fishes in that container as you can before the time runs out." -While saying that he pointed to the bucket filled with water right next to the barrel. He looked at the watch on his wrist.- "You've got one minute, tell me when you're ready." -He waited for the response and so did the fishes... they were just swiming around in the water filled barrel, just small enough for someone to grab them but they were quite adernaline filled, agile and fast... not to mention quite slippery. Fumetsu found his way to a corner to get a good look of what was going on, his arms crossed as he kept his hidden smile on his face.-
Kare: - As the harbormaster presented the  rather large barrel containing the fish, Ban couldn't resist the urge to compare his height to the height of the barrel from his point of view. While standing there, staring at the size of the barrel, his concentration was broken by the laughter of the harbormaster and Fumetsu forceful exhale of air through his teeth. He turned to look at Fumetsu with a glare and then to the harbormaster who couldn't find in himself to control his laughter as he slammed his hands down onto the edge of the barrel and rested against it for support. Feeling a bit embarrassed, Ban crossed his arms across his chest and wore and aggitated mask upon his face as he glared at the harbormaster with annoyance. He clenched his jaw and waited for the harbormaster to offer up a stool for him to use to get up and into the barrel, but he refused and with his foot pushed it aside.As the harbormaster explained how the rules and objective of the game, Ban nodded in agreement and looked over to Fumetsu to see if he was going to make an attempt at the game, but it was obvious he had no intention of being the first to give it a shot as he crept up alongside the edge of the barrel and took a peek inside. Ban would mimic Fumetsu and walk up to the edge, rising up on the tips of his toes to get a better look at what was in the barrel and caught sight of about a dozen koi fish swimming around, avoiding collision with any of the other fish. - Ban: “I'll give it a shot, but what's the prize?” Harbormaster: “Well us men by the sea pride ourselves in our prowess in the art of wielding a trident and a casting net, also known as retiarius. Whoever can catch the most fish within the time limit will be rewarded with a set.” Ban: ‘Retiarius… I didn't know they had a name for that.’ - Ban thought to himself as he nodded and stripped down to his skin tight briefs that were worn over his underwear to help prevent exposure of his undergarment while wearing his yukata. He folded up his yukata neatly and placed it down on the stand and stretched his limbs a bit, loosening up his body before leaping up and into the barrel. The chilling cold water cause him to immediately regret leaping into the water without checking the temperature, but he was better off not checking. As his body broke through the surface of the water, a large splash shot out from o er the edge of the barrel, soaking anyone within a close proximity of the barrel's edge if they didn't react and leap out of the way quick enough and the fish began to panic and swam anxiously around the edge of the barrel, away from Ban. - Harbormaster: “Time starts… now!” - As soon as the harbormaster began the clock, Ban took in a deep breath and sunk himself into the water and clapped his hands together and then wove the hand seal for rat. He focused his chakra into his shadow and expanded it the cover the entire area of the barrel. The koi fish suddenly froze in place, trapped within Ban's shadow and Ban began to snag the koi fish one by one and toss them into the extension of the barrel that held a batch of water for the captured fish. As clever as his plan was, there was only so much oxygen he could contain in his mouth before he had to rise to the surface for air. As he was moving the 7th fish into the next barrel, he accidentally exhaled, releasing whatever oxygen he had in his lungs and inhaled a bit of water, causing him to lose concentration and unintentionally releasing his jutsu. The fish rapidly began to swim around Ban, making it exceptionally difficult for him to even try to capture a fleeing fish and his own speed was quite inferior when compared to a fish in water. Struggling in his attempt to capture another fish, Ban had no choice but to pop his head out over the surface and take another deep breath, but before he could dive back under time had run out and he was left with only 7 fish captured. - Harbormaster: “Well ain't that a shame. Time has run out and you only managed to capture 7 of a dozen.” Ban: “I gave it my best…” - Ban dove under and used the calve muscles to propel himself out of the barrel. He shook himself off and the harbormaster tossed him a towel to dry himself off and in the meantime, the harbormaster turned his attention over to Fumetsu. - Harbormaster: “You think you can best his score?” - As the harbormaster attempted to spark a flame in Fumetsu's chest, Ban dried himself off and put on his yukata back on. He stood there, looking over to Fumetsu while tying his hair up into a bun. -
Guest_pxJeffTheKilleRxq: -Fumetsu watched and knowing Ban, he knew that the boy used those shadows to catch the fish... even with that huge advantage, he only managed to get seven out of twelve. 'Unbelievable...' Fumetsu thought as his rival came out of the barrel all soaked. Fumetsu walked forth, letting his kimono fall down on the neat wooden floor. His body was exposed, his muscles visbile like his shorts. He stepped out of the wooden sandals and got in the barrel. This wasn't even about the harbomaster's words that were supposed to excite him in any way to do this... no... this was about beating Ban at even the stupidest thing... If he couldn't decapitate and maim him then he could at least beat him at this game... somehow of a pacifist route. He watched the fishes swim all around his body, the water getting to somewhere around his abdomen.- "Harbormaster: Ha, I knew you had it in you. Now reeeaaaadyyy... Fish!" -With that, Fumetsu immediately bent over slightly and began to move his hands fast, already catching two fish and holding them tight enough to the point where they were hurt. Fortunately for the poor fishes, they would quickly be dropped in the bucket near the barrel. Fumetsu knew that if he fully went under, the water would greatly slow his movements up so he kept catching this way. Some fishes got away... some were caught again... The difference here was that even if Fume wasn't going to use anything since the Shikotsumyaku would kill the fishes and the adult would be mad, he was still around five times faster and stronger than Ban. He would struggle to grab all the fishes once he heard his time was almost up. He was at around 8 so he already surpassed Ban but the difference was too small so of course Fumetsu would try and catch every single one of them. So he did. He grabbed a pair of two with one fish each hand and the other were caught by this legs. They were squeezed between wood and his leg. In the end he got all of them and then got out of the barrel declared the winner,-
Kare: - Ban stood there uncomfortably due to his briefs still being quite wet, watching Fumetsu prep himself for the challenge and entered into the barrel with alongside the fishes. As he stood there, he couldn't help but recall the feeling of the slimy yet thick feeling of the fishes grazing the bare parts of his body as he attempted to capture them. His body shivered at the thought and he shook it off. As time went on and Fumetsu captured fishes, Ban counted them off in his head, hoping that Fumetsu would slip up and fail to capture more than seven, but it wasn't looking like Ban would going to end up as the victor of this challenge from the looks of things. Ban walked over to the edge of the barrel to take a peek into the container. All he could saw was Fumetsu’s arms and legs swiftly moving through the water like a katana splitting a sheet of paper and grasping the fish firmly, almost squeezing the life out of them the instant he laid his hands on them. But fortunately for them, Fumetsu was quick to dump them into the spare bucket. There was no need for Ban to count the amount of fish Fumetsu had counted, because it was visually obvious that Fumetsu had captured a lot more than he had initially. Ofcouse Ban was a bit upset at the fact that he had lost to Fumetsu yet again, but he didn't let his disappointment and envy cloud his actions. As Fumetsu stepped out of the barrel, Ban took a few steps back, turning his head to quickly glance at what was behind him to make sure he didn't bump into or trip over anything, and proceeded to cross his arms over his chest and fixate his gaze on the harbormaster. - Harbormaster: “Well it looks like we have ourselves a decisive victory… congratulations, boy! Now let me fetch your prize…” - As the harbormaster wandered off towards the back of his booth a small and fragile had ran right through Fumetsu and towards the side of the booth. Without noticing the incoming child, the harbormaster was pulling out the trident from its storage and the end of the trident shot out from the edge of the booth, crossing infront of the girl's path. Unfortunately for her, she wasn't capable of reacting fast enough to duck, jump, or come to a complete halt, but Fumetsu was in arm's reach of her and could swiftly react to save the child from her impending doom. As the girl zoomed by, Ban’s attention was drawn to the speeding figure and away from the harbormaster, so he had no idea the end of the trident was creeping out from the edge of the booth. -
Guest_pxJeffTheKilleRxq: -He stood still with his arms folded as he waited for the harbormaster to bring some "prize". He noticed the girl and kind of zoomed out seeing his little sister in that little girl. Fumetsu was somehow surrounded by the illusions of his own mind as he imagined a field of flowers close to the village he used to live in. Him and his sister used to spend time there with Fumetsu training and playing, dreaming of being able to protect his own village one day while his sister was picking flowers and making fancy little flower crowns and all that. He was smiling behind the mask, subconsciously... then a sword came out of nowhere towards his sister. He was not going to lose her, no. He quickly leaned forwards with his hand reaching towards the trident. As his hand got closer, bones came out of his arm. He managed to grab the trident in time and raise it up, also pulling it from the confused harbormaster. Fumetsu had a hard grip on that "sword", soon realizing that it was a trident... realizing that he was in Amegakure... realizing that he was just saving a little girl and realizing that his sister was more than likely already dead. His grip was still there and at this point his whole arm had bone spikes sticking out as well as his shoulder and the back of it. The little girl stopped abruptly and looked back- "Tha-" -She soon freaked out and ran away seeing Fumetsu's monstrous figure. He had his body bent a bit from when he reached the trident, his arm up and covered in spikes, his eyes narrowed and a cold look down towards the girl with his turquoise eyes. He turned his head to look at his arm. He glanced over at the harbormaster.- Harbormaster: Well I be damned I nearly hurt that young one. Thank you for the help... uh.. matey, I think something's wrong with your arm. -Fume glanced over at Ban offering the trident.- "Take it..." -His grip visibly loosened seeing how his muscles weren't as tense anymore. His bones slowly entered his arm again. If Ban took the trident he would go and take his kimono back on and pushing his feet in his wooden sandals. If Ban did not took the trident he would just place it against a wall and proceed normally.-
Kare: - It all happened so fast and Ban stood there as still as a statue. He just watched this young child sprinting as fast as her little legs could allow her. But then Fumetsu darted into the frame, dashing forward and reaching out to grip the trident as his bones protruded out from his arm as large spikes preventing the trident from creeping out further, but Ban couldn't believe his eyes. - 'Did he just go out of his to save this young girl?’ - It was completely out of character for Fumetsu to have done such a thing without hesitation. It all happened so fast that even Ban couldn't have reacted to what was going on. The girl was frightened by Fumetsu figure, the fear swarmed through her body and her instincts kicked in even before she could thank Fumetsu. She ran away from the scene, holding in her tears of fright until she was free from the public eye to let the tears flow freely. - “Thanks?” - Ban reached out slowly taking hold of the trident and closely examining it, unsure of what exactly he would use it for. He turned his attention to Fumetsu and just let whatever came to mind flow out of his mouth. - “Are you alright? You want to talk?” - He said as he held the towering  trident beside him. It was foolish really for Ban to even think of wielding it in battle, he could barely keep it standing upright at the moment. -
Guest_pxJeffTheKilleRxq: -Fumetsu made sure his clothes were well placed over his body while he listehed to Ban's words.- "Talk?... Ban, this isn't about rivalry but you know I enjoy being quiet... Hey... you could try learning to use that trident... it might save your life against me... Not that I don't want to kill you but I did find some sort of entertainment in fighting you... You might think you only need your head in a fight but sometimes you will need some force... Listen... I am grateful that you came for the sake of Akatori..." -With his last sentence, he looked over at Ban... somehow managing to spot a familiar face... Hyorinata. He wasn't going to go and ruin her fun but he was happy that she also arrived. Focusing back on Ban, he once again spoke up.- "I am not alright... I will probably never be... I have one last thing left to protect and I intend to do so... Anyway... If you have anything to tell me while we are allies, do so... Because of this... whole situation, I lost some hate towards you but we will be enemies next time...rivals of some sort... Tho, I will accept any mission requests you have... to show you that I am better..." -The mask on his face would be slightly moved due to Fumetsu's lips forming into a visible smirk... the moment was only brief though.- "I need to go now... but I would appreciate if you felt good for a bit more... I obviously don't want to see you that way but Tori would... that's all that matters.." -He paused to listen out for any words Ban might have, aknowledging them in silence if there were any.- "Until we meet again, Nara Ban." -His tone was a bit more mature, not filled with sorrow as usual but it was neutral. He said those words, facing away from the boy with a hand raised up as a goodbye, soon dropping it as he walked away.... the destination: his house. He was going to change in his usual equipment before dropping by Hyo's home. If she did not arrive in that time he would just stand by, waiting for her.-
Kare: - Ban listened closely to Fumetsu's words as he refused to speak about what might be troubling him, but since he didn't wish to speak about it Ban didn't see a point in dragging things out any longer than they have been. He smirked a bit as Fumetsu acknowledged Ban as a rival of sorts and then went on his way. Ban stood there for a moment, glancing at the trident an trying to figure out a way to utilize the weapon to its fullest potential and as he thought about it, he began to slowly walk through the fair, struggling to keep the trident from bumping into people or knocking things down. Ban knew he could simply seal the trident within a scroll, but he liked the attention it was drawing from the people around him and the younger shinobi of the village. Holding the trident made him feel like he had some sort of power and authority, but that was all just in his head ofcouse. Eventually Ban would find himself a seat on a bench beside a ramen stand and just watched the people walking by, analyzing the new faces and the few shinobi of the neighboring villages who were granted entry into the village for a festival. - 'So many new faces, I wonder what life is like in their village compared to Amegakure…’ - He thought to himself as he leaned his shoulder against the trident he had driven into the ground. -
== Summary ==
Ban and Fumetsu meet at the festival, where they spend some time together. A little girl almost dies from lack of attention but surprisingly, Fumetsu saves her.