A Typical Day... [Open][No-Kill]

Siiiiiigh.

Jayr glanced up from the counter she was leaned on as she heard the door to the inn her mother owned, the inn she was currently working the check-in counter at, open. In walked an old man with a pegged leg; Mister Smith he had called himself when checking in. Jayr thought he was really a pirate given his hat and the eye-patch he had, hiding out from the law or some such, but considering he had paid the ryo for his room she wasn't going to complain or deny him service.

Mister Smith, upon catching Jayr staring boredly at him, nodded in greeting and grinned which revealed teeth coated in gold. Jayr gave a nod of greeting to him in return and then watched as he turned and walked his way over to the bar: that was, after all, the other portion of their money making operation her mother had established. Part inn, part bar. It kept a steady flow of income coming in during the off months of the tourist seasons. Her mother employed a bartender who was in Jayr's opinion the best in the village, as well as a cook who could serve up a mean burger among other delicious eatables.

Jayr and her mother had their own separate living space on the bottom floor of the inn, locked up so that no wandering patrons entered it, while the rooms that could be rented out were upstairs. At night everything would be locked up tighter than a drum so that no one got any wise ideas, but for now outside of their private quarters, and the guest rooms that were locked and occupied, everything was still open and running as it did every day.

"Jayr, why don't you go take a break, hmm? I've finished with my errands. Go on.", came her mother's voice from behind her. Blinking, Jayr stood up straight, feeling a strain in her lower back from having been in the same position for so long. She blinked again beneath her blindfold, staring at her mother without actually being able to see her with her eyes, who then started to make a shooing motion with her hands.

"Right. Leaving." Jayr didn't need told again - besides, knowing her mother she was going to be given extra work if she hung about. Jayr picked up her bag which had been resting by her feet, a shoulder bag filled with a variety of items, and headed out the door; the bell chiming softly as she left. Once outside she then headed around to the back of the building. There was a small yard, but it was hardly every used. There were trees about that provided protection from the sun, and made a cool place to sit and relax.

Jayr dropped her bag near the outer wall of the building and then sat next to it, leaning her back against the building comfortably while she stretched her legs out in front of her with a bend in her knees so that the bottoms of her feet were against the ground: this would allow her to use her Shinsai ability since the blindfolded female couldn't see otherwise. Once she was situation she reached into her bag and pulled out Chill; it was her drug of choice and kept her calm which was a good thing considering her hidden dark nature. She made quick work in opening up the baggie of what would be a purple like plant substance, and then pulling out a bit which would be placed in a glass pipe. The rest was put away, and the pipe brought to her lips as a light was produced next from her bag...

The Chill:

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The flick of the lighter and the flame appeared while the pipe was brought to her lips. While she inhaled the sweet smelling drug she would become aware of a male approaching. She had never seen him before, though that meant little given she spent the majority of her time in and around the inn. His appearance did little to stop her in her activities either as she continued to inhale until her lungs were full before lowering the pipe down to her lap. She turned her head to keep herself from blowing smoke directly into the newcomers face as he kneeled down in front of her.

He asked her what she was up to, and introduced himself as Okami, asking her then what her name was. "Name's Jayr, and I'm smoking.", she said, raising up the pipe still filled with the purple leafy drug. She cared little who knew she smoked, and who knew she got high: especally since it all served a higher but private purpose. As Jayr shifted to get into a more comfortable position she switched in a way from one sensory ability to another; to her stronger one known as Kodama. At her current skill level she could only see in black and white and shades of gray but it would give her a better image of this man to work off of.

Kodama:

"So, Mister Okami. What brings you to the inn, hmm? Or my backyard?", she would inquire curiously as she brought the pipe up to her lips once more, did her little thing with the lighter, and inhaled more of the sweet smelling drug: exhaling with her head tilted away from Okami just as she had the last time. It normally took a few hits for her to feel it these days given how much she relied on it to keep her inner demons in check, but she was still feeling calm and relaxed from the last time she had smoked so she wasn't worried about hulking out and harming this individual, yet.

When she was finished with her latest hit she would reach up and adjust the blindfold into a more comfortable position over her useless eyes; laying the pipe and lighter to rest in her lap beforehand so she didn't risk spilling the substance within it all over herself.

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Jayr registered the fact quite easily that Okami sat down next to her, and could even see him smile in her direction though she wouldn't mention it for the time being - she liked to keep personal information to herself after all unless she knew she could trust the person she was sharing it with.

Now, the average person when asked what was wrong with some sort of condition of theirs tended to get offensive: they tended to feel insulted by the question and perhaps even lash out. However, Jayr didn't. Perhaps it was because she was far too used to the curiosity surrounding her mother's clan and the fact the majority of them were born blind, or perhaps it was the fact that she was still pretty high and getting higher still. Either way it didn't bother her in the slightest. "My eyes? I'm a member of the Yanagi clan: a clan of doton users. The majority of my clan is born blind. I'm one of that majority."

She picked up her pipe and lighter again, but before bringing it to her lips she grinned a bit. "The stuff I'm smoking was specially made; that's why it's nothing like what you've smelled before. It's grown under specific conditions. My mom came up with it, and then passed the knowledge onto me. It's for a.. medical condition, we'll call it." She wasn't lying either; given her issue was an actual medical disorder, the treatment for it was thus. The pipe was brought to her lips then as she fell silent, and another flick of the lighter and inhaling took place. "So you're a special jounin, eh?", she would ask upon exhaling. "I'm a Genin myself." She wasn't at all nervous about talking to someone higher ranked than herself, but then again she had enough Chill in her to calm a savage bear at this point.

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Reaching into her bag Jayr pulled out a small zipped up pouch which she opened; inside were various tools for keeping the glass pipe she was using to smoke out of clean, as well as a safe place to store it where it wouldn't get broken in her travels. She would remove one of the tools and go about cleaning the pipe out now that she had smoked all she had needed and wanted to for the moment. While she worked she listened to Okami talk, grinning a bit when he mentioned how it sounded awful to be born blind.

"It's not so bad, really. When you're born without something you never know what it was like to have it in the first place; so I don't know what I'm missing not having eyes. Plus, my clan came up with a way to compensate for such a defect long ago. On top of that... being blind has its uses. Makes doing missions and such quite a bit easier since no one really expects to have a blind girl whooping their butts, or following them. I'm seen as harmless because of my defect to most people I come across." She didn't bother mentioning that she wasn't; clearly if she was a Genin she would have had to have at least some skills.

When he inquired as to her skills, and mentioned his own, she nodded down to the pipe she was busy cleaning out: not bothering to keep up the guise of being completely and totally blind anymore. "Well, Medical Ninjutsu is what I'm best at - I learned a lot from my mom when I was growing up and it always fascinated me, so I took to it pretty easy. Ninjutsu, too. The Yanagi clan is known for their Taijutsu ability, but I've been kind of slacking with that - my... medication... keeps me a bit too laid back to really bother. I'd much rather use my mind and skills to fight than beat someone to a bloody pulp." Once she finished cleaning out her pipe she put it and her tools away, brushing off the remnants of everything from her lap and onto the ground.

"I use Doton primarily, and some Suiton too...", she stopped there, not bothering to mention her ability to use Mokuton: with her past, and the fact she already blamed herself for her father's murder, she wasn't going to risk her mother's life by being so open with it, even if this Okami Uchiha was seeming like a decent guy.

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Somewhere deep down, beneath the numb and blissful feelings that her high was giving her, she felt a twinge of guilt for not being quite as honest as she should have been. She wasn't lying in the information she had given Okami, but she hadn't exactly been fully forthcoming. The last time she had allowed someone to know, or rather see, what she was capable of it had cause her father his life as he tried desperately to defend her and himself. It was like an inner battle going on within her between wanting to fully tell Okami the truth because it was the right thing to do, and wanting to keep it all secret for the safety of her mother and herself. Despite this inner battle brewing, though, she kept it well hidden - her face nothing more than a bliss-ed out half smile from the effects of the drug she had just finished smoking.

"I've heard of Yin Release and Yang Release before; they're quite powerful in their own right. Useful elements to have, too." She knew all about them; especially since they governed power over things such as Genjutsu, Medical Ninjutsu, and Taijutsu - all things that were in some way useful to Jayr. Her mother and father had wanted her to be the best, to be as strong as she could be, so they had taught her from an early age about all sorts of things - it gave her a wealth of knowledge she found herself often using later in life, such as now.

She fell silent then, contemplating what else Okami had said. He clearly knew that the new Harukage was a member of the Senju clan and even said that he had saw him use Mokuton the other day while they were sparring. The Harukage was likely the leader of the Senju clan, if not entirely than at least in this area since that position normally went to the strongest. It was a bit strange to know that the Harukage was clearly so open about which clan he was part of. Perhaps, it was because he could defend himself well enough against any threats posed his way due to that knowledge? Or was it simply that this area was safer for a Senju to be so open about themselves in? She didn't know, because she didn't know the man himself - she had never even seen him in fact. "Isn't it.. dangerous... for him to be so open about belonging to the Senju clan? Isn't it dangerous for you to be so open about belonging to the Uchiha clan?" Both clans had their own unique powers, and both clans often had their members hunted by others who sought those powers, so she was simply curious as to why they would be so open about it all.

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Jayr kept quiet while it seemed like Okami was thinking; she didn't want to disrupt his thought process when she truly was curious what the answer to her question would be. The first thing that Okami said was that he thought it was better to be yourself, to be honest with both yourself and other people: something he was sure that the Harukage would agree with him on. In Jayr's personal opinion that was easier said than done; safer said than actually done too for that matter - but, she would let him continue and keep listening to what he had to say in silence.

He brought up his own clan next, and some of the problems with in it, including what he called the Curse of Hatred. Apparently this was something that had got him into trouble on more than a few occasions. He mentioned how it could consume someone, turning them into something, into someone, that they weren't. He said it was something he wouldn't wish on anyone, and she could definitely relate to that feeling. While her own inner demons weren't part of her clan they were still real enough, and she knew how he felt - though, she continued to remain silent as to not be rude and interupt. From there he went on to explain a bit about his clan's history, ending up with the previous Harukage marrying into the Uchiha clan.

He concluded wth saying that the fact that they were so open about who they were wasn't so much that they were confident in their skill and ability, but that they wished to be themselves because only then could you unlock your true potential. Oh how she knew how that felt, how she wanted that. She was so tired of the secrets and the lies, of the half truths and having to withhold information. She wanted for once just to be herself, just to let someone know the real her. It terrified her, and had her reaching for her pipe once more from its little pouch. With pipe in hand she pulled out the purple leafy medicine next and began to fill the pipe carefully: only the fact she was still high keeping her hand from trembling at the thought of what she might or might not be about to do.

"I sort of know how you feel; with what you explained about the Curse of Hatred. My clan doesn't nessecarily have something like that... but I have my own inner demons. I told you that what I smoke is for medicinal purposes and I wasn't lying. I suffer from a medical syndrome that puts me into a rage like state whenever my emotions get too out of control. I have the most severe form though called Berserker-Blind Rage Syndrome. When I snap and go into that rage? I can't differentiate friend from foe. I could snap on an enemy, kill them, and then turn on an ally next without being able to stop myself." With the bowl packed she would bring it to her lips, flick the lighter into life, and inhale deeply: she had just admitted one of her secrets, not the greatest one, but it still shocked even her.

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Okami said that he could see where that would be a problem and she simply nodded in response while taking another hit from her bowl and exhaling it away from him. "My medicine definitely helps. I mean... it's always there beneath the surface, but at least when I'm high it can't just rear its ugly head and take control of me. 'Course, being high all of the time has its downfalls; most people for instance aren't like you, they don't stick around to listen to why I do what I do. they just call me a druggie and go on about their lives while judging mine."

As she took another hit she thought about what else Okami had said; about coming to terms with her demons one day. She didn't know if that would ever happen really: she had been dealing with these inner demons for thirteen solid years and so far they hadn't loosened their grip on her even once. The herbs helped, but even sometimes she still lost control of herself. "I don't know if I'll have fully come to terms with my inner beast to be honest. I've dealt with it since I was five years old: it reared its ugly head over a terrible incident that occurred a little over thirteen years ago..." Jayr fell silent then, feeling the familiar guilt worm its way into her gut, as well as the sadness. She missed her father terribly, and fully blamed herself for his death even if it wasn't exactly her burden to bare.

"Something terrible happened that day... something that is my fault. It resulted in the death of someone I loved very much. I was just a child, five years old, but I knew better... and I broke some rules, and it had dire consequences. When that person died, killed by someone else, it sent me for the first time into that Beserker state of mind. I've had to deal with it ever since." It felt good to talk about it, good to bring it up and discuss it, even if she wasn't giving him all of the details - such as why it had all happened to begin with. But still, better out then in.

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Jayr did the llighter and inhale routine twice as she listened to Okami's sad tale. It was truly upsetting how easily people en-mass freaked out and did terrible things like that, it was equally as bad as the Bystander effect: two opposite effects and each as equally damaging. Jayr laid her now warm pipe down on her lap carefully since there was still some Chill left in it and shook her head before exhaling smoke once more away from Okami.

"I'm sorry to hear that; I really am. But, I'll have to disagree with you on whose fault it is. You had no way of knowing what was happening until it was already happening, right? You're one man, one man who was up against what sounds like a decent bit of people. Even civilians can overwhelm en-mass." It felt so strange to Jayr, even as intoxicated as she now was, to be telling someone that something wasn't their fault when she herself had done something to cause the death of someone herself. But that was just how things were, Jayr saw the world in shades of gray both literally and physically, so she was able to see things a tad bit different than the average person could or would.

"I suppose... I should be completely truthful with you, since you've fully shared your own misery with me. The person who i told you about how died? That was my father. I'm... I'm a member of the Senju clan: my father was a Senju, my mother is a Yanagi. We came from one of the minor villages near here. There had always been strangers sniffing around the village, asking questions. My birth was a secret, and for five years people just believed I was adopted; they had no idea that I was really the child of my parents. My father used to take me out on camping trips far away from the village to teach me the clan's jutsu and he always told me to never tell anyone or show anyone what I could do. Well, I didn't listen one day. I was five.. and I was bored. So I was playing in the backyard with a tree. Two of the people who had been sniffing around, saw me, and entered into our yard. My dad saw them, realized what they had seen, and went to stop them while I ran inside. They killed him and then came in to do whatever to me. That's when I first entered into my Berserker rage state.. I... killed both of them. When my mother found out, came home and found me hiding in a cupboard, she whisked us off here and set up this inn. She even told people she didn't know who my father was, just to keep me safe..."

The pipe was picked up from her lap, brought to her mouth, and the lighter flicked into life before she inhaled long and hard. She had never told anyone her story before, and had no way of knowing how Okami would react: but it felt freeing to finally have it all off of her chest.

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Jayr had kept her feelings bottled up, had kept her story to herself. Oh, her mother knew of course everything that had happened, and her mother had always told her it wasn't her fault. But, that had been hard for Jayr to believe. That's what mother's were supposed to do, right? To tell their children that such terrible tragedies weren't their doing? To try and make them feel better? That's what she had assumed her mother had been doing the entire time: anytime she noticed her daughter feeling a bit sad about it. Jayr had even figured she had been assuring her as much as she had for fear of her going into a Berserker rage mode and causing more trouble.

But to hear it from someone else? Someone who had no reason to sugar coat the truth with her? It was like a giant weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. It wasn't until that point that she realized just how much guilt she truly had been carrying around dealing with her father and his death. Far more guilt than anyone should shoulder and carry.

"My father definitely was a hero.", was what she settled on saying. She had no way of putting into words at that moment what she was feeling, no way to describe the burden being lifted from her shoulders or the feeling of the chains wrapped tightly around her gut and heart being loosened. No, there were no words for that yet. So, the bowl was brought to her lips once more and the flick and inhale done again: she was more than high enough to reign in her other half normally, but she didn't trust the way she was feeling right now even if it was a good feeling and not a bad - it was un-nerving.

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Jayr would turn her head as if actually looking at Okami with her eyes despite the fact they were very much useless and very much still covered. She would take the bar of chocolate with a grin spreading across her face. "Thanks. This stuff always gives me the munchies..." The wrapper would be torn open and a piece broken off and popped into her mouth. Just as she was beginning to chew the delicious treat she would heat the backdoor of the inn open and sense her mother's arrival.

"Jayr, I need your help. I have to run to the market and grab some supplies before the kitchen runs---", her mother paused, having been so preoccupied that she hadn't outright noticed right away that Jayr wasn't alone. "Hello, there."

"Mom, this is Okami Uchiha. Okami, this is my mother Wakai Yanagi.", Jayr would introduce them as she finished chewing the bite of chocolate in her mouth and had swallowed it. "I can go run to the store if you'd like, mom..?"

Her mother simply smiled and then stepped off the porch. She handed the list to Jayr who took it automatically: clearly she wasn't worried about not being able to see what was written on it. "Alright, but don't be all day. You know how those booze hounds get about having to wait for their burgers and food...."

Jayr simply grinned, making quick work of putting her pipe and stuff away. "Psssh. I doubt they'd mess with you. They're afraid you'll knock their teeth out of their head."

"And they should be.", her mother responded before giving a parting nod to Okami and walking back inside.

Jayr simply stood up and shook her head a bit. "My mother is truly a frightening individual sometimes...."

"I HEARD THAT YOUNG LADY!", her mother called out; not so much angry as she was amused. Jayr just grinned more.

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.oO(Sorry, IRL life has been killing me these past few days.)

Okami said that he didn't want to hold her up, and that he hoped they could run into each other again sometime to which Jayr nodded her head with a grin. It was nice to have a friend outside of her mother, and it was nice to have someone to talk to outside of the inn's guests. They were interesting and all with their various stories and different methods of doing things, but it was still nice to have another shinobi to talk to even if it was one ranked much higher than herself.

Jayr would quickly gather up her things, putting everything back into her bag where they belonged. Once the strap was brought up and over her shoulder she too would leave, heading directly toward the market with the list of items in hand that her mother needed. Given the list she wouldn't be gone all that long, which was good, because her stomach was already beginning to growl with hunger...


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