Fallacy
Chapter Three
-Training Day Two: Etiquette-
"Good morning girls." Hinata said, smiling softly at them. "Now, today we are going to be learning table manners. As you can see, I have set up placemats for each of you at your desks, so that you can practice." She said, gesturing, to the miniature place settings.
"Table manners? Really?" Satomi arched a delicate brow, looking bored. "I already know how to eat without looking like an idiot."
"I should hope so." Hinata said. "But do you know the proper place setting for all of the required utensils? How many courses each kind of meal should have, and what they include? And what utensils are used for each dish?"
They all stared at her as if she were talking gibberish, even Minako. "Um…"
"Exactly." Hinata interjected with a bit of a huff, surprising them all with her slight attitude. "Now be quiet and pay attention. I expect you all to take notes, and I will be checking to make sure that you did."
She turned and began to write things on the board, speaking as she went. "Now, first we will be learning about informal dinners. This is the easier of the two, involving the least amount of tableware, since there are fewer courses involved." She began to pace in front of them. "This is your basic everyday table setting, one that you might already set each night for dinner in your own home." She walked up to the board and picked up the marker.
"Your plate goes in front of you, obviously." She drew it on the board. "And on top of it goes the napkin. The way it is folded does not matter, but in this case, it can just be done in the regular manner like a rectangle or a square."
Natsumi raised her hand and waited to be called on. Hinata looked back and pointed to her, "Yes Natsumi."
"Every night? Why must that be done every night? Can we not make dinner and put it on a plate and set it in front of them? No offense, but I'm pretty damn sure the last thing a man is going to notice after a long day at work is how the utensils are placed. I know my father doesn't."
"Natsumi, a Kage's wife does not say damn, especially when talking to someone of a higher or equal rank." Hinata said, somewhat sternly. "Furthermore, I don't really care if you don't do this for your husband's on a daily basis. But when you have friends or family over for a casual dinner, it is proper protocol for it to be done. Not only does it make the entire meal presentation look nicer, but it is nice to do for your guests."
"But-"
"No buts." Hinata said quickly, holding her finger up. "No. Buts. Now be quiet." She ordered in a somehow kind way.
She turned back to the board and continued teaching. "On the right side of your plate you have your dinner knife, teaspoon, and soup spoon, in this order." She drew them out. "On the other side is your dinner fork, and salad fork. At the top of your plate and off to the right, is your water glass, and the wine glass."
She turned back to them. "Any questions?"
"I don't understand why we have to have a teaspoon if there is no glass for tea." Taka said. "What are we supposed to use it for?"
"It isn't for tea." The elder woman explained. "You can either use it to mix some of your food on your plate, or it can just sit there and look nice."
"That's stupid." Satomi sighed, crossing her arms and closing her eyes to try and relax.
Hinata walked until she was before the pink haired woman, causing her to open her eyes. She leaned forward until their faces were close together and smiled a little too nicely. "Did you have a question Satomi? Because I didn't hear one."
The elder twin went slightly wide eyed and for the first time was actually intimidated. "Um…no ma'am." She said, trying to sound as respectful as possible.
"That's what I thought." She straightened and walked back to the board. "Now, for dinner parties and political functions, we use a more formal place setting. It uses a lot more utensils, and a helpful tip to remember is to start from the outside and work your way in toward the dinner plate."
Hinata continued telling them everything needed for a formal place setting, drawing it out and explaining why every utensil was needed. "When you finish eating your meal, place your silverware at a four o'clock to ten o'clock angle with the knife blade facing you. This position will let your server know that your plate is ready to be cleared." She finished, turning to face them. "Any questions?"
Minako raised her hand, and when Hinata nodded, she asked, "Are we going to be quizzed on this?"
"Yes."
Natsumi lifted her hand. Hinata looked down at her and hesitantly gave her permission to speak. "Can I just go ahead and kill myself now?"
"No, and your sarcasm is not appreciated." She said. "If that is all, then you girls are dismissed. Don't forget to show up at the same time tomorrow for your first lesson in seduction with Ino."
With a round of sighs, they all closed their notebooks and rose from their seats. They all headed out together, looking worn from the amount of information they had just had to absorb. "Well that was horrible." Natsumi sighed, running her head.
"I never knew my mom could be that scary." Minako said, sounding a bit dazed.
"I don't wanna get married anymore…" Satomi shivered.
Suddenly Minako perked up. "Hey, why don't we all just go out to lunch?" she suggested. "I'm starving."
"Well I can't go, I'm bringing Akito his lunch. My man needs his nutrients." She smirked, walking off.
"I wasn't really inviting you…" the ebony haired woman said softly, though Taka was already far enough away that she couldn't hear her.
Natsumi shook her head. "I'm ok. But thanks Minako. I think I'm just going to go pick something up and go crash in my suite. I'm beat. But definitely Wednesday." She waved as she walked off.
Satomi glanced at Minako and somewhat smiled. "I'd love to Minako, and I'm starving."
The dark haired girl smiled back and they left then, off to enjoy their lunch.
Natsumi walked around Konoha's market, trying to decide what she wanted to eat. She was definitely craving some fruit, but she couldn't tell what. Then it hit her, "I could really go for some strawberries." She said to herself and glanced around, trying to locate them. She sighed, sometimes she really hated being in a foreign village.
Giving up on finding it herself, she walked up to someone at one of the stands for teriyaki shish kebabs. He was wearing nice fitting black pants with a kunai holster strapped to his right leg. His shirt was black as well, its long sleeves pushed up past his elbows, and the Uchiha symbol on the back. She tapped him on the shoulder, "Um excuse me sir, I hate to intrude, but could you tell me where the strawberries are?" she asked and then went wide eyed when he turned to look at her. "Oh." She frowned. "It's you."
Akito actually seemed to perk up a bit at her presence. "Well, if it isn't Natsumi." He said, smiling slightly. "Of course I can show you where the strawberries are."
"Uh no, that's ok." She moved away from him and started down the street where more of the vendors were.
He walked behind her and put his arm around her waist, turning her into a different direction. "You'll be looking all day if you go that way." He said as they walked down a side road.
Despite her displeasure of his touch, she couldn't help but blush at the contact. Even though he was a disgusting pig, he was an amazingly attractive one. "I thought you were going to be eating lunch with your fiancé," she said, almost sounding angry. "At least that's what your skank of a wife thinks."
He snorted. "Yeah, but I think she drugs my food, so I don't eat a thing she brings me." He said as they made their way down the streets. "Besides, she's annoying, and a complete bitch."
Natsumi just rolled her eyes. "Yet you're marrying her." She pointed out. She glanced down to the hand on her hip and slowly pried it off and moved from his grasp. He took her wrist and spun her around, pinning her against the nearest wall and leaning in closer, until he was just a hairsbreadth away.
"Yes but," he smirked, running his finger along her delicate jaw. "I think Konoha would like to have better relations with Suna."
Her eyes widened slightly, but he was close enough to see the difference this time, and her cheeks turned a dark blood red. But then her gaze hardened, "I'm sure it would." She spat out, trying to force the heat from her cheeks down.
"It definitely would." He said in a low, seductive voice. "The only question is, does Suna feel the same?" he cocked his head to the side.
"I'm pretty sure Suna would like it if Konoha kept his hands on his own self. Since Konoha is a dirty man whore." She said prudently.
"Touchy." He said, straightening so that he was away from her. "Well come on, we're almost to the strawberries." He gestured for her to go first, being the gentleman that he was.
She looked off in the direction he was gesturing and then back at him. "Don't take it so offensively. It's true." She huffed, walking ahead of him.
"Not really." He said, following after her. "You can't be a whore if you only sleep with one person, and as I have yet to even do that, I am far from one." He said casually, putting his hands in his pockets.
She just rolled her eyes. "Even if I did believe you were so good, what kind of man flirts with another woman when he's engaged?"
"Probably the same as the kind of woman who flirts with another man while she's engaged." He quipped, looking down at her.
"That's completely different." She huffed.
"Do enlighten me." The corner of his mouth tilted up.
"Because," she elongated. "I have yet to even see the person I have to get married to. So I am allowed certain amenities that you, who has seen your fiancé, do not get."
"Oh really?" he asked, raising a brow. "Because many in society today would not fault me for flirting with an attractive woman, even if I'm engaged. Whereas your flirtations would be frowned upon, despite never meeting your fiancé." They stopped then, and he gestured to the vendor before them. "Here are the best strawberries in the village."
"God you're annoying." She growled out, looking over the selection and pulling down a clear plastic bag to pick what she wanted.
He smiled slightly, appearing completely entertained. "And you're amusing."
Natsumi ignored him then, picking out the strawberries she wanted. She'd go get some crackers and cheese on her way back to her suite and enjoy a nice simple lunch. When she finished with her selection, she handed the bag to the vender and reached into her kunai pouch, going wide eyed. "Damnit." She cursed. She'd left her wallet in her room this morning.
"I'll get them for you." Akito said, pulling out a small money pouch and counting out the amount due for the strawberries. He handed them to the man, who quickly gave him the necessary change.
"Uh no!" she said a bit too late, since he dropped the bag into her hands. She looked down at them and then back up at him. "You didn't need to do that…" she sighed, avoiding his gaze now.
"It's not like it was a problem." He shrugged, placing his hand on the small of her back and leading her off. "Was there anything else you wanted for you lunch?"
She shook her head quickly. "No I can just go back and get my money."
"Might as well just get it all while you're out instead of wasting time." He said. "Besides, I'm still kind of hungry and was gonna grab something, so it's no trouble."
"Well then we might as well just eat together if you're going to follow me around and pay for things." She grumbled as if the idea were terrible and unpleasant.
"Good." He smiled. "So what else do you want for lunch?"
She tapped her chain and shrugged. "Well I was just going to go with some fruit and cheese with crackers. But I'm assuming since you're a man, that's not going to be very filling. So…I don't know."
"We can have that. I had already eaten a few kebabs before you asked for help, so I'll be fine until dinner."
"Ok, let's get that then and some sushi." She said, pointing towards a stand that was preparing sushi for travel.
They went over and bought some before finding some cheese and crackers. Then they made their way to the hotel Natsumi was staying at, going to her room. Akito looked around as Natsumi set everything up at the small table in the room. "They really set you up in a nice place." He commented, walking over and getting them both a glass of water from the sink.
She glanced around the place as well and sat down on the couch. "I guess. But then again my dad is the Kazekage and my mom's from here. Plus my brother is going to be the new Kazekage, so they don't really wanna piss me off." She sighed, pulling off her shoes and then stretching.
He set the glasses down before sitting down next to her. "How was your first day of training?" he asked, opening his container of sushi and beginning to eat.
"Horrible. I don't understand when the hell I am ever going to need to know where to place a fork by a plate. Isn't that what caterers are for? I mean God." She rolled her eyes, picking up a pair of chopsticks and getting some sushi. "And I got hit with a ruler because I said 'What the hell' and again cause' your bitchy fiancé is annoying as hell."
"Tell me about it." he rolled his eyes. "The Elders made her move into my house with me, so that we can 'get to know each other better' before the wedding." He said, using air quotes. "But all it's done is make me want to kill her. She stares at me all the time, and I had to put a lock on my bedroom door and window, cause' I caught her sneaking in there once."
"I don't understand. If you don't like her that much then why don't you just pick someone else?" Natsumi sighed, though she could definitely see that freakazoid doing something weird like that.
"I didn't even pick her in the first place, the Elders did." He explained. "Just like you didn't get to pick which future Kage you get to marry. You were just assigned one. Right?"
She frowned, shoving another piece of sushi in her mouth. "Sort of."
"What do you mean, sort of?" he asked, taking a drink of water.
"I got to pick which Kage I wanted to get married too." She explained.
"Oh." He said softly, picking up and eating his last piece of sushi. He couldn't help but wonder how different things would be right now if she had chosen him. How much better they would be.
She laughed slightly and looked up, before leaning back and bringing her legs up and folding them under her. "You know I was actually going to pick you. But my mom told me that Uchihas were really bad when it came to love, so she talked me out of it. And since my sister picked the Tsuchikage already I just went with the Mizukage."
"Yeah well have fun with that, I heard he was a douche bag." He said, looking up at her. "And of course your mother thinks Uchihas are bad when it comes to love. I mean, look at how things went between her and my father." He shook his head, seeming slightly agitated. "I hate it when people think I am like him."
Natsumi had to keep her giggles in, "Yes well, I've actually heard a lot of good things about him. I think you're just pissed cause' you like me more than Taka." She teased.
"Guilty." He leaned against the back of the couch. "At least you're interesting. All she ever talks about is how great our life is going to be once we're married and how many kids we're going to have and blah, blah, blah. I don't know where she got the idea that I'm ever going to touch her." He snickered. "That would only encourage her strange behavior."
"At least she's nice looking." She tried to assure him.
"Yeah, but her personality overshadows her looks by far, you have to admit." He said.
She shrugged and yawned, laying down on the couch, not really thinking about the fact her feet her in his lap. "I'm a woman, so of course I think that. But you're a man, so looks are pretty much like ninety-five percent of what you care about."
"Maybe what some care ninety-five percent about." Unconsciously he reached out and began to rub her feet, since he had nowhere else to place his hands. "I will admit, I do care about looks to an extent, but I want someone I can talk to. Someone that I don't have to worry about when she goes on missions, and fight alongside with when the time comes. Strength is also important, because it will be passed on to the children as well, and I want my kids to be able to take care of themselves."
She let out a laugh and jerked a bit when he accidently tickled her foot. She gripped onto the couch pillow she was snuggling and tried to stifle the giggles that were bubbling out. "So what, forty percent looks, forty percent strength? Where's the other twenty percent go?"
He thought about it for a moment. "I would have to say intelligence and personality. I don't want to be with a bimbo for the rest of my life, though it looks that way." He moved on to the next foot then.
"Yeah well," she shrugged, closing her eyes. "It's not like it'll be hard to get something nice to fuck around with. You'll be the Hokage after all. Girls will be throwing themselves at your feet."
"Yay." he said softly, the corner of his mouth tilting up. "So what about you? What do women look for in a man?"
"Stuff that no man can give." She smirked and peeked down at him.
"So, you mean, things like promises that they actually intend to keep?" he asked, moving to massage her calves.
She nodded, "Yup. Pretty much."
"Well, it not like looks aren't a huge part of it. I have heard that women are a lot more perverted and sexually oriented than men."
"Oh yeah," she snickered. "That's true."
He chuckled and shook his head. For a while they just stayed in each other's company, Natsumi lying on the couch while Akito rubbed her legs and feet. When he looked to the clock and saw that they had been together for a few hours, he sighed and looked over at her. "I should probably go. My father will be wondering where I am if I miss our evening training session."
She glanced down at him and sighed, since she had enjoyed the pampering he'd been giving her. As she had thought about it, she did come onto him pretty strong, and what man in their right mind would have denied her what she wanted? So, maybe they were just the same, in wanting to have a little fun before being tied to someone they weren't particularly fond of.
Natsumi moved then, pulling her legs from him and sitting up. "Guess so," she sighed and looked over at him with a small smile. "I enjoyed your company…and maybe…you aren't so much of a man whore as I accused."
The corner of his mouth tilted up slightly. "I'm glad I could somewhat change your mind." He said. "And I enjoyed your company as well." He rose and stretched. "Perhaps some other time we can have lunch."
"Maybe tomorrow?" she said a bit too quickly, and then caught herself before she could say anything more that was incriminating to her hidden delight.
"Sounds good to me. I'll meet you in front of the Hokage Tower around one fifteen." He said, walking over to the door. He turned to her and smiled as he grabbed the doorknob. "See you then."
"See you." She waved after him.
He left then, and clasped his hands behind his head as he walked down the streets of Konoha towards the training field he and his father used. He didn't know why he had been so intimate with her earlier, telling her things not even his closest friends knew and massaging her feet. He usually never did anything nice for someone willingly, no matter how long he'd known them. And he and Natsumi had just met.
But he liked her. She not only had an amazing body, but she looked really endearing when she blushed and got embarrassed. He found that he wanted to see how far he could push her before she passed out from the amount of blood that had rushed to her face. Smirking, he activated his sharingan as he moved to attack the elder Uchiha, the thrum in his veins not of adrenaline, but of anticipation at tomorrow's lunch.
