[X] Sounds like you have a talent for the Cat language. Maybe you should practice with the neighbourhood cats? You might even see Tora again!
[X] Dad mentioned the whole 'voices in your head' thing again recently. When you expressed confusion, he suggested taking more naps. (Memory Unlock dependent on other action selection)
Ugh. What is it with everyone and naps? All this stuff to do in the day and they wanna spend part of it asleep?
You, personally, have never taken one (as such you're kinda short for a two-year-old; your mother and her doctor friends are a bit concerned). You weren't too excited about the idea before, and now you're friends with Shika-chan you downright resent the custom. He regularly conks out and leaves you all alone in the waking world with nothing to do except read the same kids' books over and over.
Fine! Fine. Shika's a smart guy, if he gets something out of this whole sleeping-when-you-don't-need-to thing, maybe there's something to it.
It takes forever for you to finally wind down and get comfy on the couch. But when you do...
~~~~~
"I'm just sayin', Goemon, if you're gonna keep following us around, learning to speak something other than Japanese might be a good idea."
Holy sh*t it's a foreigner! Like, a visibly-foreign guy! And he speaks Gyogo! Your mind = blown. At least Tora is a Fire Country cat - it makes sense, in a way, that if he were going to speak, it'd be in the Elemental Language.
The foreigner doesn't look anything like that big ethnic group from Kumo you saw in that Child's Geography of the Elemental Countries, the only really-foreign-looking people you're aware of, but he's just as different. His skin isn't quite darker than yours, but... it has a different quality to it; it's like if there's a 'normal' list of skin shades and your shade is on it, his is in the next list over of 'nonstandard' shades in the same relative spot you occupy. That's the only way you could explain it if asked.
His nose sticks out from his face and comes to a point, and he has a scraggly beard that also comes to a point. You're really curious to know what his eyes look like, but they're hidden under the brim of his hat. It's not as nice as the Hokage's - no hat is nicer than The Hat - but it's neat-looking; really seems to suit him. It matches the rest of his clothes, which are also pretty strange; the collars on his shirt and jacket are both sort of folded over on themselves in weird triangular shapes, and you're not sure what's up with the white strip of cloth he's got sort of knotted around his neck. Your sensor abilities aren't very refined, but for some reason he feels like a friend. Oddly for an adult, he has about as much chakra as a kid. A control-type, you guess - there's nothing civilian about that combat-ready casualness.
The man he's talking to, Goemon, you suppose, is... wow. He's really handsome, that's what he is. Pale and composed, with refined, aristocratic features and long dark hair, he reminds you a little bit of those creamy-eyed people you've seen around town. He certainly has that same slight frown, but his eyes are more like Shika-chan's. Besides, something about the face shape is wrong; it's too long for him to be one of them.
He feels... antagonistic, but... well-disposed? You don't know, it's like he's still coming to a decision about it, he's a confusing guy. He doesn't seem to be wearing a hitai-ate, but he has a sword, and his chakra reserves are a little above average for an adult. It's like his body is humming inside your head. You kinda like it; it's comforting.
"I speak English," he says, irked.
The two of them are sitting on either side of a low table between two sofas. The foreigner sighs, and rests his feet on the table (so rude! your mother'd kill 'im), leaning back against the cushions. "Knowing how to say 'prepare yourself' and 'die' does not constitute fluency. And another thing," he adds, pointing across the table (your mother would resurrect his corpse to kill him again!), "you've got to start eating more types of food. Once you get further than fifty miles from the ocean it's not sushi anymore. You're gonna get food poisoning."
"Or worse," says a third guy, entering from the next room, "you could always starve to death. What're you gonna do if we go to Bombay? Come to think of it," he interrupts himself with a quirk of an eyebrow, "what did you do when you followed us to Nairobi? They don't even have ramen stands in Nairobi."
"I fished," Goemon says. The other two look incredulous.
You like the third guy. You don't even have to think about it. He just gives off a friendly vibe, y'know? Like he's not just a friend of yours, but a friend of everyone. His chakra reserves...
... okay, not doing that again, you think, feeling slightly queasy. You've had you ups and downs with your sensing, but that's never happened before. You can't get a sense of how much or how little he has, or what the yin to yang ratio is, or anything. You can tell he has chakra, like everything does, but when you focus on listening, it's like loud static on a radio, with stations creeping in on either side, and a single, high note, suspended above it indefinitely.
Never before has chakra been so irritating.
Is it a kekkei genkai or something?
He doesn't look quite foreign, exactly (though there's something about his nose that is, and his jacket is cut like the other man's) but you can tell you won't be seeing anyone else like him in the Elemental Countries. He's not as overpoweringly attractive as Goemon, but you really like his eyes; they look warm.
"As expected of an Iga-nin," he says, his laughter rolling through the words as he pats Goemon on the shoulder (Igakure? The Village Hidden In The... Well? Is there a Well Hidden Village? [You feel a sudden urge to laugh and have no idea why]). "You should've ambushed us at the restaurant; we could've ordered you something better'n campfire fish."
Goemon swats the man's hand away. "You should not concern yourself with my eating habits, Lupin Sansei. I am the one who will take your life. That is all."
Hey, it's like one of Dad's stories.
"Oh, don't give me that!" the guy groans. "You've been travelling with us off and on for a year and a half! When are you gonna go home? It's gonna be New Year's next week, don't your stupid elders miss you yet?"
"I made a sacred vow not to return until my task is complete," Goemon replies, resolute.
You're torn between thinking that this guy is basically the coolest dude you've ever seen, and wondering what the hell kind of assassination mission involves telling the target you're going to kill him.
"All right, genius, if it's so important to you that I die, why is it that the last five times we've met, it's been a case of you saving my ass?"
Well that answers that question: the kind where you don't wanna do it. It makes sense now; you feel like Goemon's both an ally and an enemy because he is.
"I cannot permit you to die by a hand other than mine," the man insists.
The foreigner in the hat is grinning, but you don't think Goemon's noticed yet. You join in; that line appears word for word in Ninja Princess Kurogiku when she confesses her love to Shinpei.
Suddenly this whole situation looks a lot clearer.
"Mou, this is such a gloomy topic, and it's all your fault for changing the subject!" The man in the red jacket puts on a look of annoyance, but it's mostly for show. "We're going to Rome for New Year's. If you haven't figured out how to eat spaghetti and say Excuse me, Hello, Goodbye, Where's The Bathroom and Hey There Cutie in Italian by then, we're leaving you behind."
"Hmph." Goemon draws his sword. "The language of the blade is universal."
You gasp.
That sword.
That sword.
It's perfect.
You don't have to look twice, it's perfect. The mokumegane, the edge, the way it catches the light, the way it sits in his hand.
You think of your special spoons, and suddenly, you are ashamed of them.
The language of the blade...
~~~~~
"...no? Ino, what's the matter, why won't you wake up?!" Your mother is shaking you, frantic. You pull away and open your eyes.
"Are you all right?" she asks.
You nod. Silly Mom. You don't know why she's freaking out. You actually feel really good! Is this why Shika-chan likes naps so much?
Your father is looking at you from the chair where he goes over his paperwork. He smiles. "Any news?"
"The sword..." you say, but stop. How are you supposed to describe that?
"Figures," he mutters, shaking his head, and he goes back to work.
=
The next few weeks are spent trying to talk to cats.
The operative word being try. Turns out most cats in your neighbourhood won't talk to humans even when they try to speak cat; they just stare for a minute and then run away. If you catch them, the best you'll get is a scratch for your trouble. One cat did actually say "Let go!", but then you let go in surprise and she took off faster than before.
Then one day you get lucky.
You're back at the park reading while Shikamaru stares up at the sky (honestly, doesn't he know it's way better when the stars are out?), when a flash of fur darts through your peripheral vision. Looking over, you see two white kittens play-wrestling at the edge of the forest.
Grinning, you check to make sure Shika's distracted (he thinks it's mean of you to keep bothering animals that clearly wish to be left alone), and then creep over to the balls of fluff. All this cat-chasing has made you really sneaky, so you can get close without them seeing or smelling. You stay back about three and a half feet, though; for cats that's polite.
<"Hello,"> you say, one of the few words you definitely know.
The two kittens are immediately on their feet, and they look surprised. Maybe even scared.
<"What you?"> the one with the black mask-markings and paws asks. You think. You don't have a lot to go on, between your comprehension issues and him being nearly as young as you are, cat-wise.
<"Person!"> you reply. You learned early on that saying 'human', specifically, netted you kind of a mixed bag of reactions, mostly built around the theme of "Prove it. Feed me."
The two kittens seem to decide you're okay by them, because they relax a bit. The all-white one even comes a little closer. Ooh, look at those eyes! They're like grass in the rain.
<"What person?"> he asks. Oh. Hell, how are you supposed to say your name in Nyango?
<"Nnnyo,"> you try.
The masked one narrows his eyes in the cat version of laughter. Great, apparently now even the cat knows you're named Piggy. Unless Nnnyo means something even worse.
All-White stretches out a paw and pets your lips. You don't move, trying not to squee. Finally he seems satisfied, and he darts back over to Mask. His brother, you guess.
<"Late!"> he says, and, looking back at you, the two of them run off into the forest.
Following close behind, you eventually come to a clearing between two large maple trees, and are unable to keep a small " kyaaaaa~ " from escaping you.
It is full of kittens.
Better yet, it's full of kittens sitting at attention, with wooden swords held in their tails. You didn't think cat tails even bent like that.
Oh, gods, and they've got little sheaths on their backs! 
They're focused on two cats on the far side of the clearing, also holding swords. One is white and sleek, like the two brothers, with a black splotch on his right side shaped like the kanji for 'evening'. The other is an auburn ball of fluff.
<"Late!"> the fluffball snarls, before noticing you. <"Who?!">
<"Person!"> All-White says. <"Nnnyo!">
Oh, crap, why are they all looking at you now? You're trying to be polite, really you are, but thirty kittens just looked right at you and tilted their heads to the side! WHY SO CU~TE?!
"How did you come to meet my brothers?" the white cat asks, sheathing his sword and approaching.
Uh oh. Why are you suddenly reminded of Mom? There's nothing overtly threatening about the way he's moving, but you still get the sense you'd better answer fast. In haste, you blurt out:
"I was reading in the park and I saw them wrestling on the way here so I went over and tried to talk to them because they're cute and Tora said I could speak Nyango and I thought if I followed them I could meet more cats and I did and you're all so cute~!"
The white cat stops, apparently surprised.
<"I knew it! Human!> Food!" demands All-White triumphantly. You sigh. Here we go again.
<"Food?"> the white cat asks calmly, and all of a sudden All-White doesn't seem to be too interested in you.
Damn. That's impressive.
"I apologize on their behalf," he continues, "they haven't met a Speaker of the Tongue before."
"That's okay," you say sheepishly, "I'm not really a speaker."
"On the contrary," the cat replies. "You mentioned tono-sama, but He has mentioned you. Ino, 5th of her name, of the Yamanaka, are you not?"
You blink. "Ano, I'm Ino, but... I don't know how many Inos there are."
He nods. "We have been told to expect your coming. You are welcome to observe the lesson." He bows. "In my own tongue I am Rrnyan; humans call me Yuji. My brothers are in your tongue Shirotama and... Menka," he finishes, apparently embarrassed.
"It's Kamen reversed!" Menka says helpfully.
"Clever," you comment politely. He rubs his face against your leg in glee.
You thank Yuji-sensei and grab a seat on a fallen log.
The lesson is brief. Synchronized drilling for a minute and a half, followed by ten minutes of paired matches determined by and critiqued by the teachers, followed by a free-for-all for another five minutes, followed by the students bowing and dispersing. A few stay behind, including you. There's something you want to ask Yuji-sensei...
———
[X] I earnestly desire to learn the language of the blade. Who would you recommend I seek as a teacher?
[X] I earnestly desire to further my studies in Nyango. Who would you recommend I seek as a teacher?
[X] What, in your opinion, is the most perfect sword in the world?
———
So as you may have guessed, I'm kind of blending all the Lupin canon into one big thing for this quest; Lupin isn't the slightly cruel manga version, but Goemon was still assigned to kill him and keep his filthy mitts off the Iga-ryu teaching scroll/Zantetsuken formula.
As for Jigen being a foreigner, my headcanon strikes again. To me, he's always gonna be a dude from Brooklyn named Jigen Daisuke... who looks exactly like his Italian-American mom, plus a beard.
edited 26th Jan '13 4:05:59 PM by FurikoMaru
