A/N: Late again, but I'm going to take solace in the fact that I'm not in some other countries. I will spend the entire month being miffed that the publish date is November 2nd, however.
He returns to Konoha looking moderately worse for wear, but he is satisfied nevertheless. Shun follows him, taffy gaze flitting about to take in their simple surrounding of a typical forest. It is the one near the orphanage he formerly resided at, because the other children rarely ever ventured into it for fear of getting lost. When he was younger, he would go here to be alone and train.
When he looks up to the sky, he is greeted by the glimmer of stars and the glow of the crescent moon. Night has fallen, and it is a testament to Koukai's previous statement about the dissimilar flows of time. He is sure that he had accidentally reverse-summoned himself somewhere in the early afternoon.
"Let us go." he commands, beginning to make the trek out of the forest and back to his small apartment. It would be best to announce his accomplishments to his team tomorrow, since they will be gathering together in the morning as per usual. It is likely that Tsunade will be bathing soon, with a plausible chance of Jiraiya deciding to enact another one of his foolish endeavours. Ever since it has become obvious that Tsunade's breasts are existent, his male teammate has gotten worse.
The moron nearly died the first time, but it has only spurred him on to be more discreet in his indecorous behaviour.
Orochimaru would rather not be included in such a dilemma if he has a choice, finding it more sensible to focus on dinner preparations. Glancing back at his newest companion, he is reminded that he also has another responsibility of feeding her as well as himself.
Her eyes are illuminate against the darkness, and they soon make contact with his. She tilts her head in question, her expression a little peculiar. It is a mix of curiosity and pleasantry, yet one might say that it is eerie in its general lack of variety. Though he is not bothered by this ̶ considering that she is a dragon and dragons do not have many facial expressions ̶ others may be disconcerted by her.
Not that it truly matters, since he himself is off-putting in his own mannerisms. It will mildly amusing to see how others react, in truth. He does not mean to be intimidating, but he is aware of the effect he has and is partial to utilising it when he deems it necessary.
"What is your preference in food?" he queries, reorganising his thoughts back to the most important matter currently at hand. This is his form of payment, since she has stated before that her demand is food. What kind, he plans on finding out now. Keeping the immortal dragon happy is a priority.
Shun hums, tilting her head up in thought. "I like eating corpses." is her cheerful answer, eliciting a blink from him at the unexpected response. Turning towards him, she blinks at him. Her eyes light up when she realises that she may need to elaborate. "Human corpses, preferably, but I'm fairly sure that you can't buy them at the market."
He shakes his head, because that would be abnormal and suspicious. "No, but will regular animal meat suffice?" he asks next, as they draw closer to the edge of the forest. He hopes that it will, because he does not want a hungry dragon that has a preference for his species. He may not look as human as others, but that is his species. "Or rather, is there anything that you dislike?"
Again, she hums in contemplation. Taking a few larger but noticeably silent steps, she is soon walking by his side rather than behind him. He has noticed that she does not wear shoes, and the end of her tights are toeless. He wonders if he if it is a good idea to buy her shoes, or if it is best to let her go barefoot. She does not seem to mind, but he will ask later.
"Animal meat is fine, and I quite like gummies. One of the snakes shared some with me a long time ago, having gotten them from a previous summoner." she reveals, a slight smile pulling at her lips before it disappears. The ghost of a smile remains, at least, but there are remnants of something melancholic.
"I see," he says, shifting his gaze to her long braid when multiple objects tied to it gleam, "then that is fine. I am a chuunin, so I am paid well enough to purchase sufficient helpings of meat now."
Taken by his intrigue, he reaches out and grabs the braid to examine the trinkets woven within the strands. She watches him with interest, and lets him do as he pleases. It reaches the length of her knees, so there is much to find in it.
There are a variety of coloured pearls, and he can see the glint of small but legitimate diamonds of various shades peeking through. "If you are to go on missions with me, it may be wise to remove the items that catch too much light." he suggests, frowning once the question of why they are located in her hair arises. "Why are they in your hair?"
"I'm a fan of shiny things." Shun returns, turning towards the view of fireflies in the distance. "Most dragons do. There are lots of pearls and diamonds found in the upper area of Ryuuchidou. I'll leave them at your place, if you want; or you could even sell them. I like to make jewellery with them when I can, so maybe it could be a second source of income for you."
Then it is his turn to tilt his head at her. "You would be willing to do that for me?" he questions, his tone uncertain. Internally, he is attempting to smother the tight sensation assaulting his chest. He does not want to be moved by something like this.
He supposes, however, that it is inevitable. After all, he is an orphan, and most look out for themselves. Sometimes they band together, but in the end the majority drift apart to survive elsewhere. Orochimaru, however, has always been alone to fend for himself. Perhaps Jiraiya would have been there, but they did not know one another before becoming genin since they lived at different orphanages.
Hiruzen-sensei attempts to look out for him, thinking him a child prodigy to be trained and nurtured into something great. It is not the same, however. It is different to another person willing to give away belongings they are partial to, especially for his benefit.
Perhaps it could be explained that the money is simply to maintain the income of food that she will receive. It does not quite quell him, though.
"It's not that big of a deal." she states, grabbing her braid from him and plucking one of the blue diamonds out. "I think it would be fun, you know? Working to make a living, then doing something you like with the money earnt from it; much better than being aimless for what feels like eternity, even if it a simple way of life. The state of being that comes from being aimless is empty and lonely, but now…" she trails off, but then turns to him with a blindingly sincere grin. "I have you, no? So it doesn't have to be like that anymore."
Quite shockingly, the sensation of being stabbed hits him in the torso. He stifles a hiss, pressing a hand to his chest and feeling his face grow hot. Horrified by this, he spins away from her in a feeble attempt to hide his foolish and involuntary reaction.
No longer delirious and in possession of broken ribs, being overcome by such emotion is a frightening thing. Did she cause permanent damage to his mental capacities when she smashed into him?
Glancing at her from his peripheral, he notices her staring at him as she rolls the small diamond between her forefingers. Her expression reveals little aside from mild bemusement, since her smile has returned to its ghosted state. It gives him the impression that there is a child-like quality to her; conceivably because it would seem that she has little experience with others' emotions and how to recognise it within one's facial features.
Because of that, he discerns that there is no need to worry about being teased for his unseemly behaviour. Comforted by this knowledge, his body begins to settle. Tsunade and Jiraiya would not let this uncharacteristic behaviour go, but it would appear that Shun is either ignorant or uncaring. It is comforting, though he hopes to minimise these aggravating reactions as much as possible. Especially when they are in company.
"I… Yes." Orochimaru eventually responds with, feeling the reluctant tug of a smile as he composes himself. "It does not have to be that way anymore."
There is something gratifying about watching her visibly perk up at his words. Especially when he speaks the truth. She nods, handing him the diamond before setting off to the buildings closest to them. He is about to follow her when she unexpectedly whirls around to face him with wide eyes, excitement dancing on their surface.
"I can smell so much food in the air, Orochimaru!" she exclaims, raising her arms in celebration and forcing gravity to pull down her moderately long sleeves. "We must hurry! I have to try so many things!"
Nodding in mirthful agreement, he makes his way towards her form. "Alright, but we cannot get too much. I must budget."
It is unusually warm when he wakes up in the early morning, but it is not an unpleasant realisation. He is not a fan of the cold, and so this is a welcome change. After a few minutes of silently appreciating the mysterious warmth, his second realisation of the morning comes; Shun is the cause.
Opening his eyes, he attempts to look around himself to see and feel that she is practically curled around him as though he is her personal body pillow. Her head is located somewhere above and by his own, as one arm is curled around his head with her hand in his hair. Looking down his body, one leg is draped over his stomach while the other is parallel to his side.
Less uncomfortable with this than he expects, he chooses to prolong the moment for a while longer before preparing for the day. Though he has known that humans radiate a warmth that can be utilised with others as necessary; he had not known that it would be as agreeable as it is.
Annoyance prickles within him as he quickly understands that he will never want to sleep alone again. It feels like a weakness, because surely there will be times when he will have to. Before, it was something he was accustomed to, never knowing another way. It is ridiculously petty of him, but he cannot help it.
"Shun." he murmurs his dragon's name eventually, touching her covered forearm with his fingers. Underneath the yukata, she wears a tight, short one-piece with a turtleneck and sleeves that also substitute as fingerless gloves. It appears to be made of the same durable, black material that her tights are made of.
It makes him wonder as to whether they were made for her human form by one of the other summons, or if they are somehow tied to her human form itself. As he can see now, she is capable of removing the yukata, but he is unsure about the dark fabric underneath. In fact, it makes him wonder how summons acquire their clothing since there are a majority that do wear them.
Shun elicits are peculiar sound reminiscent of a cat, then begins to shift. She tightens her grasp on him, and he sharply exhales at the strength of the action. Fortunately, her grasp loosens once more as she attempts to bury her face into the side of his head.
His body is beginning to tingle and he is uncertain about whether or not that is bad. "Shun. We must awaken for the day, as we will be meeting with my team to early morning training." he explains, shifting his head to try and face her. There is a lot of black hair between them, however, and he grimaces so that he does not sneeze in her face. "We may get a mission as well, so perhaps you will be able to eat our adversaries."
Her eyes crack open at that, slitted taffy squinting at him. "Mmnkah…" is her eloquent reply, but somehow he is endeared by it. "Mnchigafairyma…"
And with that, she releases him and rolls off the bed with a soft thud. Surprised, he sits up and looks over the edge to find her sleepily smiling up at him. How strange it is, to think how ridiculous and adorable she is.
An amused smile swiftly forces itself onto his face as he stands and reaches out a hand for her to take. She does so, letting him pull her up with little effort. Shun sways a little, still half-asleep and her hair in disarray.
"You must be unused to waking up so early." he comments, combing a hand through her hair in minimal attempt to neaten it. Though he expected it to be coarse, it is rather silky. "How long do you usually sleep for?"
Rubbing at her eyes, she leans on him. He lets her, grabbing her waist to steady her. "A few days," she answers, unsuccessfully stifling a yawn, "but I can sleep for a few years easily. Sleep away, and hope the torments of my life don't find me in my sleep."
Orochimaru frowns as he grabs her by the hand and leads her to the kitchen. Because his apartment is rather small, the kitchen is only a few metres away. His bedroom does not have a door, so it is always within sight. He does not mind its size, as the rent is cheap and it is located in a secluded area. He has already taken the time to fix and personalise it back when he first acquired it as a genin.
"Do you not have the other snakes and dragons to socialise with?" he inquires, releasing her and gesturing that she sit at his small dining table. She listens without complaint, plopping down and slumping against it. He begins to prepare breakfast; cooked steak for her and scrambled eggs for himself.
She makes another distinctly feline sound behind him, likely stretching. "They don't feel the same way." she states, without the bitterness that he would expect from such a phrase. To her, it is merely a fact. "I don't think they can. They treat me differently because of it, but it's not too bad. I just knew that there was more to life."
He hums in acknowledgement, supposing that he can understand in some manner. Although he was ̶ is, depending on whom he refers to ̶ shunned for his atypical appearance and disposition, he has never truly disliked his peers; either at the orphanage or at the academy. They were temporary, so there was little point to getting worked up over them. Some part of him is bitter, regardless, but he intends to keep that hidden.
They fall into a comfortable silence after that. He is unused to it, because Jiraiya and Tsunade have a hard time keeping quiet. They almost always start bickering about something or other.
Placing Shun's cooked steak on the table, she smiles at him and thanks him for the meal. Her actions towards him are genuine and without surprise for what may seem unusual for him. It is a novelty, because for all the years that he has been with Team Hiruzen, his acts of kindness are generally treated with astonishment and wariness. To him, it is no wonder that he chooses to minimise such acts if that is the response he is always going to receive.
Sitting opposite of her once he is finished cooking his own meal, he takes a few moments to simply stare at his draconic companion. She tears into the steak like a savage, using her hands instead of the knife and fork that he has provided her with. Strangely enough, she is still moderately neat about it.
It is worrying to him, to realise that his ever-growing partiality towards her is already inordinate as it is. Especially since they have only known each other for two days, at the most. He worries because it is unlike him, but he has yet to wonder if it is a weakness.
Shun is immortal, and so is he. She cannot die, so no one can take her away from him as a means against him. It has always been a fear of his, to care for someone and have them ripped away because of their mortality. However, there is another matter to think of.
"Do you plan on staying with me forever?" he wonders to himself, unintentionally verbalising the question to her. His eyes widen at his witless mistake, but she simply pauses in his barbaric consumption of her steak to blink at him. Orochimaru's stomach tightens when he realises that, regardless of the mistake, he truly does want to know the answer.
Swallowing the meat in her mouth, she tilts her head at him. "Do you not want me to?" she questions him in return, her eyes expression both her curiosity and her quiet resignation. "If not, I suppose I could just find someone else while I'm here. But they wouldn't be as good as you, and I don't want to kill you."
His chest constricts, cools, and then warms in that order, prompting him to exhale in emotional exhaustion. "I want you to stay." he admits, glancing down at his food. "I am unaccustomed to the thought of thinking so far ahead, considering my profession; but I want you to stay. Perhaps it is naïve, but that is what I want."
"Then I'll stay." she agrees with a smile. "I'm looking forward to seeing how pretty we become when we're older, since I'm going to grow at the same rate as you now."
Deciding to question why that is later, he instead thinks about how she already looks aesthetically pleasing as it is.
But if she becomes even more so, then he is not opposed to it in the least.
Chapter Word count: 3,077
Total Word count: 6,016
Targeted Word count: 1,667
A/N: Just realised that this is going to be the romance challenge that I wanted. Oh, god I don't know what I'm doing. I'm sorry.
Reviews are love. Reviews are life. It's never ogre. Thank you for reading.
