The afternoon was hazy and wet, and Asahi had an itch in her dainty ivory paws to pull a prank on a sibling or two. She had spent the better part of the morning finding it fun to balance on a length of wood while it balanced on a rounded rock. Which had given her a great idea of how to introduce the idea to her siblings!

She pulled the rounded rock around to a section of the path in the bamboo maze. She took a few minutes to perfectly place the rock in a stream that ran under a few of the boards in the path. Settling it into the creek bed so when the board was replaced on top it looked natural and even! Now the fun begins! If one of her siblings steps on this board in particular they'll get a wet foot and find out they can balance on the board!

Asahi bounded along the paths between the Bamboo as if her tail were on fire. She darted over the paths looking for one of them there! Jiro! She skidded to a halt over the path, ever the ungraceful of the Hattori eleven.
"Jiro!" Asahi sputtered, a half level above a whisper, "Come, come!" Her face was plastered with mischievous delight. The little golden girl urged of her more stoic siblings, would he be curious enough to follow? As she raced back through the bamboo she found Seiko! With a giggle, she lightly bumped into her sibling and said again in her whisper voice, "Come!" And bounded down the maze. She came upon her prank and leaped over the special balancing plank and kept going, but stopped as she rounded a corner and peered around it to watch the mischief unfold.

Speech

Given the nature of their huge family, it was not at all a surprise to be pulled in various directions by their siblings. It'd be more surprising if they were left completely alone, to be honest. But Asahi was one of their quieter siblings, so hearing a summons to follow them was a little bit perplexing. Not enough to make Seiko really pause long at all, but they found their brows furrowing tightly as they turned and headed after their sister through the bamboo. Herajika, Seiko's antlered cat friend who had only recently been given a name, scrambled after them. Moving through the rows of bamboo came naturally to them, which was no surprise given their upbringing here. The feline had gotten used to these lands too, and the tabby moved easily through the rows of bamboo, easily slinking between the tightly-clustered sections to follow Seiko. Distracted by following after Asahi, which was proving hard given how quickly she'd bounded ahead, Seiko didn't quite notice something different - the board balanced carefully over the rock - even though it was out of place. Stepping on the board made them wobble, and then slide slightly to the side, paw slipping into the stream. It happened quickly enough that they were flustered, abruptly jerking back and shaking off their wet paw. Who'd left that there?! It didn't even strike them that it had been placed intentionally. The board came back up, balanced perfectly again as Seiko grumbled a little bit and glanced around, searching for where Asahi had gone.

Jiro is lounging idly in a small corner of the bamboo when Asahi goes running through. His cat, unnamed for now, is perched upon him, grooming himself to perfection when the little golden and ivory sister careens to a dust and pebble spraying stop. A sputtering cough leaves Jiro quickly as his cat zooms out of the way to hide in the shadows of the bamboo. Asahi's whispering urgency gives him no choice or time to question the issue. Instead, Jiro finds himself hefting himself up onto his paws, giving a quick shake of his coat, and off he goes to follow his sister.

Racing through the bamboo as if there's a fire, his brow furrows too when Seiko is roped into the group. A look is cast over to his other sibling as they dutifully follow Asahi along the corridors. Though he and Seiko are larger than Asahi, they had trouble keeping up. Their sister is quick to pull ahead of them, leaping over a stream that divides the path ahead of them. As she zooms up to the corner, Jiro is not far behind Seiko as they approach the stream. Noticing the boards placed neatly over the water, he doesn't waste time thinking of why they weren't there the day before.

Stepping forward onto the board beside Seiko, Jiro's own paw slips into the icy water. A disgruntled noise of surprise leaves him as he tries to balance, wobbling back and forth on the wood. Looking up from the predicament, he see the small form of Asahi ahead of them, waiting at the corner. Had she planned this little joke? "Come back here, punk!" Jiro shouts out after Asahi, a grin on his dark muzzle.

Hiding behind the corner of the bamboo she watched expectantly for her little prank to succeed. Would they be surprised and find the fun in it or would they be mad?

Her siblings weren't far behind her! Asahi watched in silent glee while Seiko walked over the board first and got a wet paw! Then Jiro found out how it worked! She spun in a tight circle with a giggle, as he called out to her. She dashed toward them then dashed back behind the bamboo. Uncertain what she wanted to do next and too excited to think straight.

After a moment she slunk her way back toward them, a mischievous smile plastered still on her lips. Her tail tucked submissively under her but still wiggling with delight. Did they think it was fun?

Everything happened quickly, but Seiko was just as swift to react, trying to salvage their composure and move out of the water. Still they'd ended up wet, but it was a small misstep and not something they'd dwell on for long. Once they figured out what Asahi needed they'd probably head back and move the board, or find some other solution to ensure nobody tripped there as they had.... and Jiro too, apparently. Jiro was close behind, sliding int the cold water beside them. It seemed that the cause, lost on Seiko, was much clearer to Jiro. Seiko's nose wrinkled - in slight displeasure, though also a little perplexed. Asahi's giggle echoing from behind a row of bamboo up ahead told Seiko the little prank had been all in lighthearted fun, something they didn't quite know how to react to. They could be momentarily annoyed, but the feeling seemed to lift as soon as their sister returned, her posture submissive. She had meant no harm, Seiko could not fault her for it. "You should've kept running," they threatened their sister playfully, though their good spirits were evident in their face, which just barely showed the hints of a smile. With that, Seiko moved into a crouching position and then sprung forward all at once, aiming to tackle her.

Jiro stands beside Seiko with the same conflicted feelings. He had not wanted to get wet today, but the chorus of giggles from Asahi quickly alleviated the temptation of irritation. It was clear to him as well that Asahi had meant this in good fun rather than to be a true nuisance. That he could forgive.

As he moves from the teetering plank onto dry ground, he notices Asahi crawling back to them with a smile and submissive stance. Jiro raises a brow at her, a chuckle leaving him as he glances over at Seiko. Perhaps it would be their turn for some fun? The words from his sibling have him believing that they were thinking the same thing.

When Seiko moved down into a crouch, so did Jiro. His smile was much wider and far more obvious. "Hope you can run fast," Jiro taunts, his tail flicking back and forth behind him as he waited for the signal. The moment that Seiko pounces, so does Jiro. Launching forward, he aims to also tackle her in case she tries to dart out of Seiko's way.

Asahi wiggles submissively, her smile and temperament all easy to read. What was good fun between siblings? She squints and wriggles as they respond to her, telling her she should've kept running! Oh no!

She bows as they both crouch and she squeals, somehow quietly, as first Seiko pounces toward her then Jiro cuts her off! As one of the smallest in the litter Asahi ducks under Seiko and slides in toward Jiro. Her bright white paws scrambled over the path to help her get her momentum shifted so she could dash off into the bamboo. Full of giggles she tries to push off Jiro's side but bumps back into Sieko with an oomph.

She is trapped and spins in a circle looking for a way out until she's pinned under them! She crumples inward and covers her face, still giggling. They had well and truly got her!

"I show! Look!" She exclaims softly between giggles. Hopefully, they'll let her up to show them the fun of the new teeter-totter she discovered.

Speech // thought // Nihongo