perplexme | Fifty-Eighth Keychain

[Housemates will probably find Roxas in the kitchen with newspapers on the table, a palate of paint, some paper...and a very disgruntled cat who doesn't understand why his human wants him to dip his pretty paws in the wet colors.]

Nea, come on. You were doing really well, too. You can't just give up now.

[There's a hiss from the cat before he swats at the paint palate. Roxas sighs and shakes his head, giving up for now. Artists can be pretty temperamental, after all. Instead he'll focus himself on the journal, opening it up and idly leafing through it. His conversation with Naoto's been on his mind, and he has an important question.]

So...what's the main difference between being a boy and being a girl? I mean, girls can do things boys can, right? So what difference does it make? [He doesn't quite get why people were upset with Naoto for being a girl detective, that's all.] Answer me that.

And answer me this: how come everyone else got a horse last week except for me? Total bummer.

[Filtered to Axel]

I've got something cool to show you, but you have to go to the battle dome with me.

[/Filtered]

[Filtered to Xion]

Do you need anything? [He's worried about you, bff dos. He's in overprotective mode now.]

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Hmm. I guess I'd be able to support her through weaponry or someone to arrest criminals if she ever gets that far, so you're free to suggest that to her. [ She seems earnest in her abilities. ]

Yes. But it serves as a double edged sword. If you identify yourself as a shinobi, you could be respected or laughed out as a woman. If you identify yourself as a kunochi, they may not take you seriously but at least you project yourself as someone that's fiercely adamant about gender equality or a victim of social conditioning.

It's a start though. [He reaches up to pet the cat behind the ears.] Okay, you're free to go. [And Nea meows before jumping off the table and darting toward Kairi's room.]

Are you ready?

...hey that's not a bad idea. I'll have to let her know. What's your name though, just so I can tell her.

It just seems like a lot of effort for something that shouldn't be a problem in the first place. I don't know how you can deal with that.

My name is Tenten. [ She offers a nice smile. ] I can summon weapons from a scroll and disable them with hundreds of projectiles, or fight with close range weaponry.

You just aspire to prove them wrong some day. It's this mindset that drives me to prove that any woman can be just as strong as a man.

Nice to meet you. I'm Roxas. [Well she seems nice enough, anyway.] ...really? That sounds...pretty cool, actually. Have you always been able to do that?

Sounds like you've got the right idea at least. Is it working at home for you though?

Around a year, discounting my time in Luceti. [ . . . In which case it'd be so much longer and the thought irks him.]

And how long is your time in Luceti so far?

It's great to meet you too. [ She has a similar opinion on Roxas, and already likes him because he's not caught up in gender bias. ] I've trained myself to do that, but I've been with weapons around my whole life. I can also summon fiery dragons that explode on impact, iron walls, and an entire ship that sails the seas, but I normally keep my scrolls storing weapons. I've been able to do this for abouuuuut [ She's seventeen now so after some brief math. ] seven years, so since I was ten.

[ And then there's a bit of a pause for her to reflect. ]

Sort of. Some are proven wrong by my abilities in combat, and how I'm one of konoha's, my home village, greatest weapon users and I was able to hold my own against high ranked criminals, but, others are pretty adamant about all females being weak.

Tomorrow marks the seventh month.

Yup. So what's this cool thing you're showing me anyway?

That's a really long time to be training. [And the more she talks, the more impressed Roxas is starting to get. All of that sounds really cool.] That makes it even dumber for people to to classify you just because you're a girl. How many other people can do what you can?

...guess that's what's nice about being here. The Malnosso give all of us an equal chance to fight. [It's kind of a morbid thought, but it doesn't make it any less true.]

We have to go to the battle dome, and I'm not telling you what it is. It's a surprise. Got it?

Not bad. So which do you prefer then?

Does this interrogation bear a purpose?

It is, but it's a normal time to start training for most. I've known people who started training when they were four. [ She shrugs. ] Most people can seal weapons inside scrolls but not too many are proficient like I am. About three have actually used this technique though, and one of them combined it with magnetism but he's dead. The other one just uses it generically, so he's nowhere near my skill level.

I didn't know they made us all equals. Hmm.. [ morbid? yes. The fact that she can take down a nine-tailed fox is a feat of its own but seriously. ]

[A thoughtful hum]

The possibility of them actually effecting our home worlds in such a way is very slim. I believe the Malnosso are only able to effect us when we're in their world, their territory. Their powers must be limited in some way, they aren't Gods.

Not even a hint?

Girls can have babies and get pregnant, guys can't.

Except seahorses. Seahorses are weird.

Uh... to be honest, it's more likely you'd get a spoon or something that you thought was a horse.

Just making sure you're actually qualified to be answering these kind of questions.

I don't think I would have tried riding a spoon.

[...actually...] Then again, I saw some really weird stuff last week. Too many guys in dresses that wouldn't come off, and a friend of mine kept getting followed by animals.

Nope. You never give me hints. [And heading out of the house!]

Still, that says something. Natural ability or otherwise...

Think about it. At least they're not holding back and saying you can't go because you're a girl. [He's kind of annoyed, that's all.] Then again, they don't even care if you can't fight. But it's still a way to prove yourself.

I guess that makes sense. It was just a thought, that's all.

...what's a seahorse?

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