Chapter 2

Though I go to him constantly

on the path of dream,

never resting my feet,

in the real world

it doesn't equal a single glance.

"I'm trusting you, Cee, to go to Sumogakure and escort the Leaf Ninja back," Raikage dropped that on Cee while he and Darui were in his office.

Playing nice with foreigners was not his forte, though he had improved by leaps and bounds during the war, he was surprised it was him and not Darui that was going.

Cee nodded obediently and didn't give one ounce of doubt in front of the raikage, he never did. He often saved his doubts and thoughts for Darui or his own mind.

"I understand things would go much smoother if we had a Yamanaka clan member here to probe the mind of this criminal." Cee said, already leaving for the urgent mission.

"So uptight, that guy will never change." Darui sighed, watching him leave the building with vigor.

"He's right to be uptight now, the war has ended and some lowlife thinks this is the right time to wreak havoc on our village after all we sacrificed to just be here." The raikage growled. Nothing pissed him off more than a traitor or someone messing with his family. In this case, it was both.

Cee recalled the mission he received the night before, not hesitating to pack his things and head out. He had been waiting at the meeting point for quite some time but by his own admission he left much earlier than needed and this Yamanaka fellow was not late in the least.

He sat under a tree to shade him from the sun and waited until he sensed a strong chakra approaching minutes away. He focused his senses and deciphered with the vibration of the footsteps that it was someone young or perhaps a woman. Their chakra signature was strong. Not immense like a Sasuke Uchiha or the likes, but a skilled shinobi.

Standing, he stayed under the tree so as to have the element of surprise. Even though they were allies, he was not going to just plant himself in the middle of the road, waiting.

In a flash he saw a person land exactly where they were supposed to meet. Taking a look as she rose from her feet, his eyes widened in surprise. There stood a blonde woman in a purple crop top with matching bottoms that instantly drew attention to her figure and unblemished skin. He squinted his eyes, trying to recall where he saw her before.

"There you are." She smiled at him under the tree. Even though he was in a shadow any amateur could sense him there.

He walked out watching her intently, without any politeness, trying to jog his memory of who she was.

"Uhm, excuse me." She raised an eyebrow at him, placing her hand on her hip. This was not what treatment she was expecting.

"Right, excuse me." He said gingerly, remembering he's supposed to exhibit manners. "I'm Cee, the raikage's bodyguard, I'll be escorting you back to the village."

"Right, I'm Yamanaka Ino, nice to meet you." She said carefully, feeling this guy was just weird.

She eyed him as he approached her and reached out his hand to her.

Reaching hers out, as soon as their hands touched, it felt as though a bolt jolted through the two of them.

"Wait, I know you!" They both said in unison looking at the other.

Horror and embarrassment struck through them, their shared memory.

Darui massaged Cee's shoulders. "All I want for my birthday is for you to relax and have fun. Once, just once. I promise."

Cee sighed, "Okay, fun and relaxation just this once." He replied sarcastically.

Darui held his fingers up as he counted the list. "That means: drinking, smiling, talking and even dancing. Well, the dancing will come with the drinking, probably."

"This is beyond ridiculous."

"And hearing you whine is dull." Darui said, going to their table.

They were out of town on a vacation that happened to coincide with Darui's birthday. This was something he and Cee had never done before but they were both adults and Darui thought that meant getting away from prying eyes and going wild. He wasn't given much choice and thought he'd be there to chaperone Darui. Instead, he had him in an obnoxiously loud nightclub and had him drinking alcohol.

With each sip he felt his senses dulling and he really didn't like it. Panic almost sunk in. But Darui was there the whole time saying "I'm sorry," and something-something "dull."

Neither were dressed up in their ninja gear, just as regular civilians in their black sleeveless tops and matching pants.

As the night went on and they got to talking and drinking, Cee found himself relaxing a bit and almost enjoying this new numb feeling of not feeling anything around him.

"I'm constantly stressed that my whole life is spent being aware of everybody else." He said out loud, something he usually never did. "It feels kinda great to not have that for a moment."

"That alcohol is hitting you." Darui half smiled.

"All it's done is make you even calmer if possible." Cee replied with his rosy cheeks.

"Oh man, that's so dull of me." Darui said, looking off in the distance.

Cee looked over to where Darui was and caught the sight of a blonde girl that all the guys seemed to be eyeing. She was oblivious to it all and seemed caught up in the joy of the beat. She had platinum blonde hair that was hanging loose down her back and her curves were on display in a pastel pink dress.

'She's really pretty,' Cee thought to himself. Looks usually weren't a thing to catch his eye, but the alcohol and environment essentially encouraged it.

"Let's go dance." Darui declared, standing.

"You're out of your mind. And this really isn't like you at all." Cee scoffed, not getting up. Talking over the loud noise was getting irritating.

"You like feeling numb to others and I like not being dull once in a while." He shrugged, the alcohol had him, too.

There were gaps in his memory but next thing he knew he was on the dance floor, just standing there not knowing what the fuck to do.

Lights flashed.

Bass of the music was vibrating through his entire body.

And there was the blonde again.

She was even more beautiful up close. He saw her pale blue eyes look up and meet his coal eyes. They locked for what seemed like an eternity. Was he feeling a gravitational pull to her or something else?

"You're not dancing." She said over the music, grabbing both his wrists.

If he weren't pumped full of sake he could have blocked that in an instant and broken her wrists for it. But he doubted he would even if he could. He wasn't even sure how he'd react sober to a beautiful girl grabbing him by the hand.

"I'm not a dancer, I'm not any of this." Cee blurted out, looking around for Darui, who was nowhere to be seen. Where was that exit again?

"Me either," She gave him a sweet smile that could break a heart.

"You seem pretty good at it." What was he even saying? He didn't usually talk to strangers like this.

"Yeah, but it's not me." She shrugged. She removed her grasp on his arms and cusped his hands into hers, showing him how to sway to the music.

He felt a bolt of intensity strike him. The contact of her soft hands. How could he forget?

A/N:
I'm trying really hard to keep Cee and Darui as in character as possible! So I hope I'm doing them justice.

Also, I think the line breaks don't show up in dark mode? Sorry about that if it gets confusing for you.