Team J Meetup

(J) Q and Yoshitsune

Yoshitsune ran. Faster than she ever had before. She had reached new heights while in Kirigakure, it was something she had to thank the village for. Without a doubt she had gotten stronger while staying in the village, and gained a wealth of valuable new experiences that she would fondly look back on when she finally had to return home. It was like a vacation, but more than that. It wasn’t even close to being over either. The first part of the Chunin Exams had only just ended, and the second phase was only just beginning. She would still have plenty of time to make even more memories here.

That was, if she wasn’t so late to the meetup that she got disqualified for it. That’s why she was running so fast. She had let time get the better of her, and while she had been engaging in some last minute preparation for the exams she nearly ended up missing the entire thing. She was lucky she was so fast. Someone slower than she was wouldn’t have been able to run all this distance, especially not in a kimono. She was still wearing it, the same flowering and ornate kimono that she had come to the village wearing. It had grown on her overtime, despite how impractical it was. Together with the wooden geta she always wore the outfit became something of a signature style for the young Kotengu. The geta especially were pleasing, as against these sort of stone roads they made the most pleasant clicking-clack sound with each step. Yoshi really loved it. The beauty of her outfit would be marred slightly by the baldric that was tightly strapped to her that held her katana attached to it. Together this, along with her hip pouch, would make it clear that she was no mere civilian. That, and the fact that she was running at a speed much beyond what the average human was capable of.

She would skid to a stop as she reached Gate J, with the friction from her sliding nearly setting her geta on fire. Yoshitsune came to a halt only a few meters away from the walls, panting and somewhat out of breath.

“I’m here… I made it!”

Quarashibanzai walked up to the gates with his hands in his pocket. The young man had a bandage over his nose. It was still healing after Taiga had walloped him good. Joining the broken nose was a large bruise on his cheek which stretched around and formed a black eye on the left side of his head. The eye was red and bloodied but despite this he could still see perfectly. The lad's hair was styled in its usual fashion: a Peaky Blinder's style crop dyed with pink. He wore a purple suit jacket and a black graphic T underneath that read: NOZZY WAS RIGHT with an image of the notorious Missing Ninja printed Che Guevara style. He wore a pair of checkered shorts, penny loafers, and had a pair of light green shades tucked in the blazer's jacket pocket.

Q was also armed to the teeth with all of his shinobi tools. They were kept in a small fanny pack that was facing outwards. A katana was strapped to his back and a scowl was plastered on his face. He looked Yoshi up and down and said.

"Yeah you're here and you look like the sorriest genin I've ever seen in my life. Don't get in my way. Stick to cooking, foraging, and all the other stuff I know you ladies are good at."

After some time spent in an infirmary and then a jail, it was determined that he was not to be charged. He had misinterpreted the exam and had inadvertently created a legal alibi for himself. They let him off with a warning and allowed him to move on to the next stage, presumably because he was so fearless and bold in an otherwise boring room. Q had no intention of failing now. He had something to prove.

Despite having skid to a stop it seemed that a brick wall had decided to hit her anyway. Yoshitsune would just stare for a moment. She had heard what this man said, the youthful looking man with the injured face and the pink hair. At least she thought that she did. It crossed her mind for a second that maybe it had just been a passing auditory hallucination. That was an excuse that would only last a second or two as her mind confirmed the fact back to herself. She would be left staring blankly at this Quarashibanzai with a shocked, confused, and slightly offended expression. Even though she knew she heard it now, had he really actually said that? For the first time in her life Yoshitsune would be left sputtering, unable to think properly

“W-W… What… Did you really… Why would you say something so cruel? You… you’re Quarashino…bannzy? We’ll have to work together here if we want to do well… Plus, it looks like you’re already injured too.”

Yoshitsune would give the boy an up and down look. He had a katana too, which was something they had in common at least. His eye and nose seemed pretty messed up though. Yoshitsune had no medical equipment, so she hoped that neither would progressively get worse over these next five days, lest he turn into dead weight.

“Maybe you should leave the fighting to me? Even without your injuries, you do look a little scrawny… Ah! I could maybe cook for you while we’re out there, and we could work together on bulking you up. It would be a good opportunity to build muscle, don’t you think?”

She offered it out as an olive branch, hopefully to make peace with him, all the while wearing a somewhat nervous smile. If they couldn’t work together somehow it would just result in the both of them failing. Yoshitsune was willing to make compromises, even if that did mean debasing herself a little bit.

Q smirked as the girl stumbled over her words in response to his insult. She lacked the mental acuity that he possessed. She wasn't quick on her feet or mouth which meant that the selfish egoist would run roughshed over her. She found her footing and finally gave a coherent response. She pointed out that he was injured and wasn't fit for battle. Q assumed the girl was being sarcastic when she mentioned that he ought to rest and bulk up. His face scrunched up in annoyance for a moment but rather than let the insult get under his skin, he quickly relaxed his expression.

The casual Konoha-Nin walked up to Yoshitsune. He entered her personal space and stared her down from an uncomfortably close range.

"Scrawny? Injured? That's no way to speak to your Commanding Officer now is it? The name's Quarashibanzai....but you don't get to use it. From now on you will address me as 'Mi Lord'. As in, 'Yes Mi' Lord, I'll get dinner started right away' or 'Please Mi' Lord save me from these enemy genin'. If you don't do exactly what I tell you to do it, when I tell you to do it. I'll abandon you and let the wolves tear you to pieces. You don't seem all that bright so you wouldn't last ten seconds out there....and if I'm really pissed off, I'll just take you out myself"

He had mocked her in a rough approximation of her voice and then no so subtly threatened her. The lad spat blood to the left of them and continued: "If you think these injuries are bad...you should have seen what the other guy looked like. Then again, you'd probably faint at the sight of 'em"

Q shrugged and pushed past her. He shoulder-checked her on his way to the gate. The rough slam hopefully being enough to push her back a couple steps. If Q's hunch was right, she'd be cowed and intimidated. He couldn't have her challenging his strategic genius, not when there was so much on the line. He needed a lackey. A minion. Someone whom he could use to further his own selfish interests. If she happened to ride along his coat-tails into the next round then so be it. But if not, then that was fine with Q too. Just as long as she didn't drag him down with her.

Q allowed himself to be searched on his way into the gate. The man was about to hand him the relic when Q snatched it out of his hands with rude vigor. The guard looked at him with utter contempt but said nothing. He stowed the piece into his inner jacket pocket and snapped his fingers at Yoshi. He hadn't bothered learn her name and so he just decided to call her "Skiddy!" He pointed to the direction he wanted to take them. "Let's go."

It was the closest thing she'd get to a compliment. He figured girls liked cute nicknames and so he settled on Skiddy as opposed to something more demeaning or insulting.

He was buzzed through the gate and the two would march into the second portion of the Chuunin Exams.

Exit

Her words did have a little sharpness to them when Yoshi said them. She didn’t go into this with the intention of jabbing back at her partner, but she had let the moment get the better of her. Especially as it had been intended as an olive branch of sorts, with the purpose of making peace. At the same time, what he had said was so egregious that she almost couldn’t help herself but make a point to mention his musculature, or rather lack of. This however would be a poor choice of words for her. Rather than immediately responding the male would begin to walk towards her. This alone was cause for alarm in itself, but the fact that he didn’t stop until he was much too close and deeply inside her personal space was something that instantly made her egregiously uncomfortable. Yoshi would find herself leaning back, edging herself away from the male that insisted on standing in her space. The angry ranting, like something that might have been said if a highschool was given the job of drill sergeant, was an entirely different level of awful. This kid… he had a lot of balls. Yoshi could at least say that about him. She couldn’t help but keep that same nervous, uncomfortable smile on her face throughout the entire speech he gave. She really didn’t know what to say or do other than that, and so that would be how her face was frozen.

It was sort of hard to take him seriously when he was spitting blood though. In a way it was almost sort of cute that he was doing and saying this all.

It became a little less cute as he pushed past her, but this would be something she would be forced to tolerate. It seemed like it was too late to ask for a partner swap anyway. There was nothing she could really do except try and work with him, or around him if it became too much of a burden. Still, having just herself would be so much of a disadvantage the idea of trying to go her own way was incredibly unappealing.

The fact that Q was the one that took the relic also made it impossible for her to go her own way anyhow. Yoshi would let out a somewhat resigned sigh as that option flew out the window. Following the snap of his fingers and point off into the wilderness, Yoshi would find herself unfortunately following after the male.

“Yes, Mi’Lord. Whatever you say.” She would say with a roll of her eyes, dripping with just about as much sarcasm as the girl was capable of. If she was going to be forced into a role like this, Yoshi would at least ensure she could get some sort of fun out of it. She would follow after Q as they were both buzzed through the gates, marching together into the second portion of the exams.

[Exit]