Reina's Solo Mission

Reina was sitting outside in the garden meditating peacefully. She was jerked out of her trance like state when a messenger bird landed next to her. It dropped something and then flew off. Reina stared at the tied up message it had left behind. She slowly reached over and untied the string that held it together, then she unrolled it and read the short letter.

I am giving you and your teammates each special solo missions where if preformed correctly will be rewarded. First you must meet Old Lady Haruka at _____ pm today, so good luck; you are going to need it.
From, your loving sensei-Kurimiya.

Reina stared at the letter for a few minutes. Then she noticed two little smudges of charcole at the bottom of the page. She assumed that that meant that she was to meet Old Lady Haruka at 2. Reina went back to meditating as she had some more time until she needed to leave.

After a few hours Reina stopped meditating and calmly got up to get ready for her mission. She walked through the halls of the Main Family's compound and came to her room after a few minutes. She quickly got dressed in more sutable clothing for a mission and checked the clock. It was 1:30. Reina had half an hour but she decided to leave early. It would be better to get there early than late. So she quietly left the compound and walked for five minutes until she finally left the Hyuuga district. When she reached the main roads of Konoha she tried to remember where exactly Old Lady Haruka's house was...

Finally after walking randomly for a few minutes Reina remembered the general direction she thought Old Lady Haruka lived. She set off in that direction quickly trying to make up for her lost time spent dithering. Reina walked through the busy main roads of Konoha until she came to one of the roads that turned away from the main parts of Konoha. She turned and began walking up this road looking at all the houses carefully. She finally came to the house she knew was Old Lady Haruka's. Reina knocked politely on the door and waited. A few seconds later the door opened and an old woman that Reina immediatly recognised as Old Lady Haruka was standing there. Reina smiled politely and bowed in the proper fashion to show her respect.

Old Lady Haruka was well known through out Konoha as a wise old lady who taught young children etiquitte and flower arranging. She had in fact taught Reina the art of the Tea Ceremony when she had been younger. She wore a traditional kimono with long sleeves and an elaborate obi that Reina knew must have taken her ten minutes to tie. Old Lady Haruka smiled demurly at Reina and motioned gracefully for her to come in. Reina thanked her politely and informed her of the reason she was there. "Yes, I did ask for a young kunochi, but I never imagined it would be you dear," Old Lady Haruka said. Reina bowed politely to show that she was grateful for the compliment and asked her what she was needed for. Old Lady Haruka smiled coyle and gestured Reina to follow her.

Reina followed Old Lady Haruka two steps behind her and a step to the left as was proper. Old Lady Haruka walked elegantly with small mincing steps. Reina tried to emulate her but she still always walked more like a shinobi than a proper lady. Luckily Old Lady Haruka didn't seem to notice. Reina remembered all the scolding she used to recieve when she was younger from this woman when she did something wrong. At that thought Reina tried harder to take little steps. They walked down a few hallways that were artfully decorated with scrolls hanging from the walls and other fung shui items. They finally turned into a traditional room with tatami mats on the floor and sliding rice paper doors.

There was a low table in the middle of the room. On the table sat a pure white scroll that was unrolled a little bit. Next to it was an ink well full of jet black ink. A brush was set parrallel to the scroll on the other side. There was a little girl, maybe 6 or 7 sitting on one side of the table. She had her head down and looked up for a second before quickly looking at her lap and twisting her hands together when they came in. Old Lady Haruka turned to Reina and said, "This is Setsuna." At her name the girl jumped and stopped fidgiting.

Old Lady Haruka seemed to ignore Setsuna's obvious lack of decorum which surprised Reina. She waited for further instructions from Old Lady Haruka. "I have many students and not enough time to spend on the ones who need...," she paused here to shoot Setsuna a look of disapointment. "More help than others," she finished looking back at Reina. "Your mission is to help her work on Caligraphy. Good luck," with that Old Lady Haruka bowed just enough to be polite and left the room as quickly as her little steps would allow. Reina bowed to her and waited until she was gone before facing the little girl. Reina bowed politely to Setsuna, who still hadn't looked up from her lap.

"I am called Hyuuga Reina," she introduced herself. Setsuna jumped when she heard Reina's voice and quickly nodded her head. Reina sighed quietly and decided that the child probably couldn't help her lack of manners. Reina crossed the room in a few steps and knelt down on the other side of the table. She surveyed the objects on the table and then looked up at Setsuna. "How much of the art of Caligraphy do you know?" she asked curiously. Setsuna answered in a small wavering voice, "O-Only the first few beginner sets..." Reina nodded, although inwardly she was surprised.

Most children learned at least those first sets when they were younger, either from a parent or other relation. It seemed like Setsuna had been a student of Old Lady Haruka's for a while, so it was strange that that was all that she knew. Reina ignored her random thoughts and tried to figure out where they should start. "Well then let's start with your name," she finally said. Reina unrolled the scroll a little bit and picked up the brush. She lightly dipped it into the ink well getting just the tip wet. Then she carefully placed it on the upper left corner of the scroll and gracefully formed the kanji for the name Setsuna. She studied her work and then satisfied handed the brush to Setsuna.

"You try now," Reina said softly. Setsuna grabbed the brush with shaking hands and dipped it into the ink well, getting way too much ink on it. Reina quickly shot out her hand before Setsuna could ruin the scroll by blotching it, and grabbed her wrist. She lightly said as she tugged her wrist away from the scroll, "That is too much ink." Setsuna let go of the brush and Reina caught it quickly. She quickly saw that there was also a little basin of water sitting on the table. Probably for just this reason. Reina dipped the end of the brush in the water and watched as the ink slowly colored it black.

Reina carefully pulled the brush out of the water and set it on the table to dry. She turned to Setsuna who was staring at her lap again. "You only need a little bit of ink. Or else it will smudge or blotch and not glide the right way," Reina said. Setsuna nodded but still stared intently at her lap. Reina sighed quietly so that Setsuna wouldn't be able to hear her. She reached out and lightly grabbed one of Setsuna's hands. Setsuna jumped and looked up at Reina startled.

Reina still holding Setsuna's hand lightly reached out with her other hand and pushed her three fingers below her pointer finger towards her palm. Then she lightly tugged Setsuna's hand over to the ink well. "You only need ink on the tip of the brush. There's a special way to dip the brush in the ink to get it just right," she said softly. Setsuna seemed captivated by what Reina was saying and stared at her hand. Reina lightly directed Setsuna's pointer finger straight up and down and then guided her hand a few inches over the ink well. She pushed Setsuna's hand down until it just touched the ink and the pad of her finger was stained black. Then she removed her hold on Setsuna's hand.

Setsuna stared at her finger that was still resting just on top of the ink mystified. She brought her hand up and then slowly lowered it back down onto the ink exactly as Reina had. She didn't say a word as she brought her finger back up and repeated her action. Reina watched as Setsuna repeated this a few more times. The Reina looked over at the brush and noticed that it had dried. She grabbed Setsuna's hand before she could dip it in the ink again and stuck her finger in the water dish. Then she picked up the dry brush. Setsuna removed her finger when the ink had washed off and looked up at Reina.

She was obviously waiting for further instructions Reina decided. So she handed her the brush and pointed to the ink well. Setsuna childishly slow brought the brush over to the ink well. She delicately dipped just the tip into the ink. Setsuna smiled brightly and looked up at Reina. "That's the correct way to do it," Reina said, knowing that if she hadn't complimented the child she would of gone back to staring at her lap. Setsuna moved her hand over to the scroll and Reina felt a sense of de ja vu. She again reached out and grasped Setsuna's hand. Pulling it away from the scroll.

Setsuna looked at her quizically. "Your holding the brush wrong. If you are starting in the right corner of the scroll, which you should be, you need to hold it like this," Reina said quietly. She repositioned Setsuna's fingers slowly. Sliding her small hand closer to the tip of the brush. With her thumb and pointer closer together. Then she tugged at her pinky and curled it flush to the back of the brush. Reina surveyed Setsuna's new hold on the brush and nodded.

"Now try it yourself," Reina commanded. Pulling the brush out of Setsuna's hands and then handing it back. Setsuna stared at the brush for a second and then tried to wrap her hand around it the same way Reina had. She managed something close to what was correct... sort of. Reina had to remind herself that at least it was better then her first grip. Otherwise she might have shaken the girl. She slowly moved the girls thumb to the front of the brush. Then she slid her middle finger closer to her other fingers.

After a few more movements from Reina, Setsuna had the correct grip once again. Reina let her study the way her hand was placed for a few minutes. Then she pulled the brush out of her hand again. She handed it back. "Try again." Setsuna attempted to copy what she had seen twice now. She was still fumbling with her fingers when Reina stopped her. Reina looked at the way Setsuna held the brush and sighed again under her breath.

Reina moved her pinky finger back again. Then she curled it slightly and pushed it flush against the side of the brush. She slid Setsuna's pointer finger closer to her thumb. Finally she tucked her ring finger under the bottom of the brush and released Setsuna's hand. Setsuna stared at the brush again. She was obviously trying to memorise the way she was supposed to hold the brush. Reina watched her. "Try and think of how it feels," she advised.

Setsuna nodded. Then she closed her eyes tightly. After a few minutes, Reina tapped her on the shoulder. "Okay, give me the brush now," she ordered. Setsuna relinquished the brush. Reina handed it back. "Try one more time." Setsuna nodded determinly.

This time Setsuna took a few minutes and carefully moved her fingers around. Sometimes she used her other hand to position them right. Finally she looked up at Reina. "Is that right?" Reina nudged her middle finger closer to the middle. "It's much better," she said lightly. "Now try to dip it in the ink," she commanded. Setsuna hastened to comply.

Setsuna lightly brought her hand over the ink well. She paused for a second, her hand shaking. Then she dipped the tip of the brush in. She did it perfectly. "Good job, that was really good," Reina praised her. Setsuna blushed. Then she brought her hand over the scroll. This time Reina was glad that she didn't need to stop her.

Setsuna lightly pressed the brush onto the scroll and moved her hand in an arc. She continued drawing the kanji for her name. Reina winced slightly as she watched. Setsuna really didn't know what she was doing. Her technique was horrible. Reina let her finish and then waited until she looked up at her. "That was okay for a first try," Reina said. Setsuna wilted understanding the not quite compliment for what Reina really thought.

Reina motioned for Setsuna to try again. Setsuna straightened her shoulders and sipped the brush into the ink. When she held the brush over the scroll Reina grabbed her hand and directed her movements. Slowly she moved Setsuna's hand around the scroll making elegant arcs and lines. Then she lifted their hands up and away from the scroll. "Try again," she said softly. Setsuna dipped her brush into the ink and placed it on the scroll. She tried to emulate the strokes that Reina had used.

Reina had to admit that it looked much better than her first try. She complimented Setsuna. Setsuna smiled again. Reina told her to do it again. Setsuna complied. They kept repeating this cycle until Setsuna could write her name using the correct technique. Reina complimented her again, and took the brush from her hand. She cleaned it off in the water and then set it down on the table.

When she was done Reina looked around for a window and saw that it was getting dark. She didn't know how long she was supposed to be here for but her family would be slightly angry if she missed dinner. Right as she thought that Old Lady Haruka came in. Setsuna immediatly stared at her lap once again. Reina stood up and bowed deeply. Old Lady Haruka bowed back slightly. Then she looked at the scroll. There were many misstakes in the beginning but the later attempts looked at the very least passable Reina thought.