Dancing on the air..., ...or walking, you know whatever

[Noriko Ryuzaki]

Another year had passed. The time had funny movements, days would go slow, days would speed by, but always they came, never ending. Noriko was late, but it was better than to not do it at all. She flitted up the steps of the temple, taking them by ones and twos, with no real pattern at all. Her cream colored pants swished in the air noiselessly and her muted gold top fluttered with her movements.

A laugh bubbled up her throat but she kept it in check as she bowed entrance into the shrine. It didn't seem to be playing host to any others at the moment, so Nori reveled in the moment of peace alone. She glided on pointed feet toward the bin that would serve as the final resting place of her previous year's charms. Giving them one last well wish, she dropped them away, waving slightly and smiling lightly.

It was so quiet, the shrine was sleeping, and she hated to wake her up. Yet, she had the strong urge to set forth her new year's wish. Hopefully the shrine would accept it, she hadn't meant to wait so long to make it. Sighing to herself, she stepped forward to the bell and drew the paper crane from her pocket. Just the sight of the wish wielding bird brought her happiness and she blew on its wings to have them move just so.

With a last nod, she dropped the bird into the grate and rang the bell to signal the gods. Putting her hands together she closed her eyes and spoke her words barely above a whisper, "I am in the way of hoping that my wish will please those who are likely to hear. Be sure that my family who have gone to the place where those who are dead go be watched over and guided." Bowing once more, she spun away and twirled herself to a little bench.

Breathing deep the scented air, Noriko laid upon the bench, content with interaction she'd had with the temple. It would be a good year, for the temple that was, she had that feeling.

((Forgot to mention, this is open to whoever would like to join.))

[Sasaki Seiichi]

Seiichi jogged along the far side of the lake, next to the old road. He was on his way to the dojo, but he'd taken the long way around in order to warm up his muscles a bit first. A pulled muscle wasn't fun--he'd had one once before, though he still blamed the accident on his sparring partner. He'd tried to perform an illegal sweep on Seiichi, so of course he hadn't been ready for it. One shouldn't have to worry about illegal moves during a tournament.

He probably could have gone straight to the dojo and run a few laps around inside, but running laps in the tiny building felt both confining and ridiculous. And (though he wouldn't tell anyone this), Seiichi liked the lake. It was deep and solitary and quiet, just the way he prefered everything to be. So he'd run past the gardens and around the corner of the lake beside the junior high. Now he was on the straight stretch jogging towards the shrine. And he wasn't alone.

Seiichi wanted to swear, but doing so would be a loss of self-control and of breath, so he stared straight ahead, making a point of not looking at whoever was visiting the shrine. He rounded the corner of the lake, then left the shoreline to head in a straight line towards the dojo. But he wasn't watching his feet carefully and when the terrain changed from the pebbly shoreline to the grass of the grounds, Seiichi's sneaker caught on something and he fell, almost directly in front of the shrine and its visitor. Grass stains formed on the knees of his gi pants.

This time Seiichi did swear.

[Noriko Ryuzaki]

The incense scented air had nearly lulled Noriko into a state of which many would call that between sleep and awake. It fuzzied her brain a little, but that was alright, it was part of the charm of the shrine, part of her sense of being. It was a good day to commune with her. Stretching with the grace of a cat, she just laid there for a few more moments, taking in that which is the quiet serenity of the shrine.

Until she heard a viscous swear call out from down the steps and outside of the building. She sat up as if she were pulled by marionette strings, her head leading and straight from the hip. Turning, with an odd grace and the same doll like way, she spied the young man who'd been jogging. He wasn't jogging now though of course, he'd wanted to commune with the ground apparently, or perhaps he'd just fallen.

Either way, Noriko pushed herself off the bench and walked with a flowing gait out from the temple and she began to fly, slowly, down the stairs. The shrine and her manners would've been offended if she didn't at least check on him, of course.

"Have you been damaged by the earth? Is your inner self in an alright place?" Yes, those speech lessons had worked out just perfectly for Noriko. Squatting so that she was at an even level with him, she looked down at the grass and smiled, it was doing so well for this time of year. Reaching out, she carelessly plucked a lone strand and rubbed it between her fingers. "The grass has found a good place to be what it is." She of course was not speaking of Seiichi's gi pants but rather that the grass was doing whatever it is grass does well.

"Oh," dropping the blade of green, she raised a hand to her mouth. "Forgive my rudeness, I am Ryuzaki Noriko." Because some days speech worked for her.

[Sasaki Seiichi]

Who was this person accosting him in the height of his humiliation? Seiichi wondered irritably. He pushed himself to his knees and brushed the dirt and grass from his hands. “No, the ground did not damage me,” he sneered. As if he could be damaged by something as insignificant as the ground.

Seiichi warily eyed the girl as he got to his feet. She was built a bit like a dancer, he noted, and had long reddish hair, Which she probably dyed, he thought with another sneer. He didn’t understand the ridiculous fascination with turning one’s hair unnatural colors.

“My inner self is always in an alright place,” he said, purposely neglecting to introduce himself. He didn’t know this girl or her family and wasn’t sure she deserved the distinction. "I'm rather busy," Seiichi added, turning as if to jog towards the dojo.

[Noriko Ryuzaki]

"Oh, that is so good to know that you have not found yourself harmed. I was feeling concerned." She smiled again, forcing herself to glide over the snide sound of his voice. It was difficult to do as she was feeling less and less concerned over his well being.

He did seem to finding his place after meeting with the ground. Uncurling her form she stood up to her full short height. "You have the talent for the fact that you are always at a proper inner place. Few come by it."

Nori tugged on her lower lip thoughtfully while staring at him. "And what is it that you are called by from people?" If he needed to get where he was going, there was no reason to not go with him. She began walking toward the dojo on her tiptoes, step from side to side instead just forward.

[Sasaki Seiichi]

Seiichi’s spine stiffened. What right did this girl have, this Ryuzaki, to think she could understand him? How did she know he was “always at a proper inner place”? Not that it wasn’t true, of course. Seiichi prided himself on his control and his unflappability. He was annoyed, however, that this girl seemed to believe she was giving him a compliment. Seiichi was a secure person. He didn’t need compliments.

Without even bothering to answer Noriko’s question, or even to look at her, Seiichi turned and strode purposefully toward the dojo.

[Noriko Ryuzaki]

Noriko stopped for a moment, watching as the young man strode purposefully toward the dojo. He did not seem to be respecting her place as a human at all. She frowned slightly as his retreating back moved off farther. Well it wasn't her area of expertise, but rudeness was hardly something she would take from someone she didn't know at all.

Traipsing after the young man, she caught his pace in her mind and made up dance steps that followed along with it. Maybe she was placing her attention in a place where he would become annoyed by it, but he'd tread on her own sense of manners. Finding the need to speak unneccessary, she just carried on with her dance as they approached the dojo.

[Sasaki Seiichi]

The girl was following him! When he’d very clearly brushed her aside so he could go on to do better things with his time. Did she not understand that he didn’t want her around? She was an annoyance (and slightly crazy, he suspected) and she demolished his sense of order. She was going to destroy his concentration and make his time in the dojo worthless.

He abruptly turned to confront her. “What are you doing?” he demanded with an air of superiority. “Can’t you see that I’m preoccupied?”

[Noriko Ryuzaki]

It wasn't really in Noriko's nature to bother people, but this particular form of person had been exceedingly rude and that couldn't go un-punished either. This being the case she merely looked slightly past him and smiled quietly. "I believe under most forms of communication, it is called dancing. Stranger-san." She let the ground twirl her once before she turned away to look at the shrine's side. Technically, and that's a bit of a step for her, she was doing nothing to stop the boy from whatever it was he wanted to find himself doing so she felt no strong urge to respond to his pre-occupied remark.

"This day was born to see the world move and the people go." And that would normally translate to, 'It's nice to see the world go where it wants.'

[Sasaki Seiichi]

Stranger-san? Seiichi couldn’t believe the nerve of this girl. He’d never before encountered a person so brash. And what did he care about the day and seeing the world move? The girl was mad. Utterly and completely mad. But Stranger-san…That could not go unanswered.

“My name is Sasaki Seiichi,” he said coldly. The fingers of his right hand twitched. He wanted to hex the girl, to wipe the dreamy look off her face. His wand, however, was back in his dorm room.

[Noriko Ryuzaki]

"Ah, Sasaki-san, it is a day to remember, this that we have met." It wasn't exactly a pleasure or an honor, but something that she wouldn't soon forget. The sensation that she wasn't wanted blew over her and she felt the terrible vibes coming from the young man. It was also apparent that the earth didn't like it either, perhaps the earth wanted to push him off her ground and into space. Of course this was impossible, but she wondered to this matter anyway.

"The day has a nice glow to it, it makes it want to last longer. But if you're trying to be somewhere, you should probably get there before too long." It was little of her to say so and perhaps she'd feel the sorrow of it later on... perhaps.

[Sasaki Seiichi]

She was giving him leave to go? Seiichi was more shocked than angry. That another person could be dissatisfied with his presence and dismiss him had never before crossed the boy's mind. It was a humiliating sensation and--for just a moment--Seiichi wondered if this was how his family's servants felt. Then his thoughts returned to saving face.

If he said goodbye to the girl and left, it would appear as if he needed her permission to go. That would never do. But staying in her presence would be an annoyance, and he'd lose the time to train in the dojo. Trying to think quickly, he said something that he hoped was a safe compromise.

"I was never in any hurry," he snapped. "I merely said I was preoccupied." Stall, he thought to himself. So that you can be the one to take leave of her.

[Noriko Ryuzaki]

"Perhaps it's better for you to continue on with what you were previously doing then?" Maybe if she spoke enough words to him like that he would go away? All in all, Noriko was finding his presence rather flattening, as if her spirit would die being squeezed by his. Still, rudeness was not something she would resort to, even in this boy's special case.

Glancing down at his grass stained pant, she lifted her eyes to look directly to his. "You may also want to do a spell that would clean for you on that. The longer the stain finds itself residing in the fiber of your clothing, the harder to remove." It may have sounded snide or rude, but really it was just her trying to be friendly still.

[Sasaki Seiichi]

There was no help for it. The girl was being impertinent and Seiichi wasn’t going to stand around and take it anymore. He knew how to remove grass stains from his clothing, thankyouverymuch.

“Yes,” he said. “It is better for me to continue on with what I was previously doing.” He gave the slightest of bows (it was really only an incline of his head) before turning on his heel and continuing on to the dojo.

[Noriko Ryuzaki]

What a rude, impudent boy. Noriko scowled slightly at his back and reminded herself that fighting rudeness with rudeness got you no where. Except perhaps detention. Still, she'd make a note down that Sasaki Seiichi was a person with whom there was little she could do or say, and maybe she would watch out to make sure none of her friends were around him either.

Breathing deeply she took a moment to try and find her calm, and ended up just lying on the grass staring at the clouds. Oh, and there went an ostrich shaped one.