The final stage of the chunin exams was quickly approaching, and, much to her despair, Rinn was only managing to see Sasuke twice a day at the moment: Once in the morning and once in the evening. Her training schedule was gruelling, as were her teammates. Toru was really cracking the whip with the whole team, and even Tatsuo's usual light-hearted demeanour was feigning.
Shichiro in particular was extremely resolute about his goal of becoming a chunin. He had also tried his best to take on board what Tatsuo had said about his attitude towards the 'Sasuke and Rinn' situation. As such, he was making a conscious effort to keep his jealousy and anger to himself. Unfortunately, he was finding this very difficult, and was still feeling disappointed about the events that occurred between himself and Rinn one week earlier:
XXX
Rinn came running across the training field like a woman possessed, dumping her bag a few feet away mid-run and coming to an abrupt halt next to her teammates.
"Sorry I'm late guys, I was just-"
"Visiting Sasuke at the hospital?" Tatsuo finished, a teasing glint in his eyes as he grinned knowingly.
Shichiro scowled and folded his arms.
"Rinn, I know he's very important to you, but so is your training. The chunin exams are rapidly approaching, and I need to be sure you won't be putting yourself at risk by competing," Toru scolded, unable to hide his concern for his only female student.
"I know Toru-sensei, but-"
"He's right Rinn. You need to put your safety first. Sasuke has plenty of people in the hospital to look after him..." Shichiro began, already getting visibly agitated. Tatsuo shot him a look, as if reminding him of their discussion in the arena, causing Shichiro to sigh deeply and look away to the side in irritation. He did however manage to stop himself saying any more.
"I expect you to be here on time tomorrow, Rinn. Otherwise, your teammates will suffer – I'll assign them two hours extra warm up time if you're late..."
The two boys whined and cursed at Toru's suggestion, whilst Rinn was horrified.
"But-" she began
"I'm sorry Rinn but it's the only way I can get you to listen to me. There's no point in penalising you because you'll just take whatever punishment I give you. Your teammates however..."
"I promise I'll be on time tomorrow sensei!" she said quickly, convincing Toru that he did not need to continue with his threats.
"Good. Right then, today we are working on chakra control..."
Despondent groans echoed from Rinn and Shichiro, who were already unusually gifted with chakra control. Rinn of course had her almost unrivalled medical techniques, and Shichiro was extremely skilled with sensory abilities. Chakra control, to them, came as naturally as breathing in and out.
"Now now, you two. I know this is like teaching you to suck eggs, but Tatsuo needs to work on his chakra control. The three of you are a team, and as such I expect you all to be mindful and supportive when we are trying to improve a teammates weak area-"
"EXCUSE me, sensei, but 'weak area'?!" Tatsuo interrupted in horror, his pride hurting a little.
"Compared to the some of the genin we've seen so far in the competition, my chakra control is leaps and BOUNDS ahead of theirs!" He continued.
"Is it on the same level as your teammates?" Toru scolded.
"No, but-"
"Is it as perfected as your fire or taijustu techniques?"
"Well, no..."
"Do you think an opponent will care if your chakra control is the better than 'other genin'?"
"No..."
"Therefore, does it need improving?"
Rinn and Shichiro awaited Tatsuo's reaction with amusement. Toru-sensei was always brilliant at intelligently winning an argument and had a very sharp mind.
Tatsuo simply mumbled inaudible things under his breath, accepting his defeat, and stalked over to a nearby spot to begin his meditation.
Toru gave Rinn and Shichiro a cheeky wink, before explaining their more advanced meditation training and sending them off to sit with Tatsuo. They managed about 10 minutes of silence before Rinn interrupted.
"So you guys, I have some new names for my jutsu," Rinn announced to her teammates, eyes still closed, legs crossed and hands together in a meditative pose. Tatsuo frowned, trying visibly hard not to break his concentration.
"Oh?" Shichiro replied, eyes also closed, interested to hear what she had come up with.
"Well the bone breaking one is 'Os-fragor', my defensive technique is 'Impedimentum' and my eyes are 'Oculidama'."
"Interesting. I didn't know you knew Latin, Rinn," Shichiro said, opening one eye to look at her.
"I didn't know you did either, Shichiro," Rinn replied, pleasantly surprised and also opening one eye to look at her teammate.
Shichiro chuckled a little.
"Rinn, I have runes all over my body. Of course I know the ancient languages..." he explained in amusement.
"Ah that makes sense. Sasuke and I had to teach ourselves. It was his idea to name my jutsu actually... and he helped with some of the ideas..."
"I bet he did," Shichiro said before he could stop himself, eyes now open and brows furrowed.
Tatsuo, who was just about to tell them to shut up so he could concentrate suddenly became very interested in the conversation, and his eyes popped open as he watched Rinn's facial expression turn darker. Delight danced on his face as he awaited her reaction.
"And what's that supposed to mean?" She demanded.
Shichiro sighed irritably.
"Nothing," He said, trying to keep his cool.
"No, come on. Spit it out."
He sighed again, looking to Tatsuo for some back up or bail outs.
Unsurprisingly, he offered none. He was enjoying watching him squirm far too much.
"I just feel that Sasuke has no business naming your techniques... Or causing your training to suffer," he said, trying to put it as delicately as possible.
"My training isn't suffering."
"You've missed 5 hours this week alone."
"That's none of your business."
"Of course it is! You're my teammate!"
"Exactly. Your teammate. NOT your student."
"I never said you were!"
"You act like it though. Always telling me what I should and shouldn't be doing. And who I should and shouldn't be doing things with. You treat me like shit sometimes! Like I'm so beneath you!"
Shichiro felt shock and guilt all at once. Was that really how he made her feel? He was mortified. If only he could explain...
"Rinn, I just don't want you to get hurt, I care about you more than you know! I lo-"
A fireball flew across the front of Shichiro's face before he was able to finish his sentence.
"Tatsuo, what the hell?" he yelled across to his friend, who was very unconvincingly pretending to be deep in meditation.
"Hmm? What?" Tatsuo said, as if he had just been awoken from a deep sleep.
Shichiro tutted at him and looked back over to Rinn, who, much to his despair, looked a little upset. She had obviously meant what she said about the way he makes her feel, and he felt awful about it.
"Rinn, I-"
"It's OK, Shichiro. I think I'll train over there for a bit," She replied, pointing vaguely ahead and sitting down a hundred metres or so away from the boys.
Shichiro turned to Tasuo.
"What are you playing at?" He asked him, threateningly.
"I could ask you the same thing..."
"What?!"
"You almost gave away your feelings there... You'll have to be more careful," Tatsuo scolded, eyes still closed in mock meditation.
"Maybe I wanted to!" Shichiro said defiantly.
This caused Tatsuo to open his eyes, and he gave Shichiro a knowing look.
They both knew that Shichiro's feelings for Rinn were a secret best kept to themselves.
XXX
To try and take his mind of off these events, Shichiro had thrown himself into his training – even more so than usual. He had also made a conscious effort to be more pleasant to Rinn and keep his opinions about Sasuke to himself. Sometimes, Tatsuo had to gently remind him with a subtle cough or nudge, but all team members had noticed an improvement.
Another thing that was improving was their skills. Tatsuo's chakra control had come along very nicely, and Rinn had almost mastered projecting her protective barrier, or 'Impedimentum' as it was now occasionally referred to, onto allied targets to protect them from damage. She was also able to encase stationary targets in a barrier like the one she was able to use to shield herself, which would prove to be invaluable on future team-based missions. Rinn, however, decided that this would be of little use to her in the chunin exams, and in her own time was secretly trying to work on projecting her red chakra for ranged attack. This was currently proving to be mostly impossible.
Shichiro was becoming a deadlier opponent by the day. Not only was he becoming even faster, but his perception had improved tenfold – so much so that sometimes it seemed like he knew what attack his opponent was planning before they did themselves. In addition to all of this, he still had his unique magic techniques with his runes, and Rinn decided he'd have no trouble beating some of the jonin in the village. Blindfolded.
Sasuke however, was becoming restless. Still stuck in the hospital, he was becoming increasingly bitter, and hearing Rinn talk about how well her squad were coming along made him nothing but jealous and angry. Then, recognising these feelings, he became even angrier, this time at himself. How could he feel this way towards Rinn, who he thought of so highly and who was only trying her best to do well in the final exam? One day, it got too much for the young Uchiha.
"Rinn, I don't want you to come and visit me for a while," He suddenly announced one evening sitting in his hospital bed, fists clenched as he glared at the blanket over his legs. He couldn't look her in the eye, but he could hear the sadness in her voice when she next spoke:
"What? Why not?" She said, hurt. She was tidying away some of his clothes that she had taken home to wash, but soon placed them on the side and quickly came over and sat on the edge of Sasuke's bed.
"I just..." He trailed off. He didn't want to admit the real reason, but he couldn't think of another excuse he could give her without upsetting her.
"What is it?" She pressed, worried she'd done something to upset her friend. She reached out and grabbed his hand.
Sasuke's eyes darted down to their hands for a split second and he sighed, looking away out of the window before speaking again.
"I want to... no – I need to get back to my training. Hearing you come in and talk about it just..." He trailed off again, unable to bring himself to say it.
"I understand," Rinn said reluctantly, giving his hand a squeeze and standing up. Sasuke still couldn't look at her, trying to save himself from the growing guilt that he was already feeling.
"Plus, if you're not coming to visit, then I'll have double the motivation to get out of here," Sasuke added, trying to lessen the blow a little, "I'll miss you too much otherwise."
Eyes still locked on the window, Sasuke was caught a little off guard when he felt himself being pulled into a hug from above.
"I'll miss you too," she replied, releasing him and heading for the door. She gave him one last look before gently pulling it closed, and he heard her footsteps get fainter and fainter as she walked away.
Unsurprisingly, Sasuke instantly regretted his decision. No longer than 5 minutes had passed before he was already wishing she was back there with him.
For God's sake Sasuke, pull yourself together. This was your idea. This was what you wanted. Now sort yourself out so you can get out of this damn hospital!
Sasuke grumpily lay back in his bed, glaring murderously at the ceiling.
Way to go, you've certainly given yourself motivation now, haven't you?
Not knowing what else to do with himself, he pulled the covers over his body and tried to force himself to sleep – not easily achievable when he had so many thoughts buzzing around his head. Everyone around him was getting stronger and stronger, and here he was... stuck.
- X -
The next morning, Rinn was not just on time, but she was actually early for training. Being the most punctual and dedicated of the group, Shichiro was the next to arrive. Normally he was at least half an hour earlier than the rest of the squad, so the look on his face when he saw Rinn waiting there in the training grounds was a picture.
Confusion, shock, and disbelief all manifested at once as he reached the spot where Rinn was waiting.
"Are you really here, or has somebody cast genjutsu on me?" Shichiro said, chuckling and nudging her slightly as if to check whether she was really there. Rinn gave a small laugh in response.
"No Shichiro, unfortunately itreally is me," she replied, looking slightly downcast.
"Are you all right?" he asked her, perceptive as ever.
"Yeah, what about you?"
"Did you not spend long at the hospital this morning? Normally I wouldn't expect to see you for at least another hour or so," Shichiro asked, trying to keep the conversation light-hearted, but completely ignoring her question.
Rinn looked at the floor, saddened, and said nothing.
"Did you even go to the hospital this morning?" he continued, acutely aware that something was bothering his teammate.
"No." She answered curtly, still looking at the floor.
"But what about Sasu-"
"He told me not to visit him anymore," Rinn cut in, trying to end the conversation as quickly as possible, "Apparently he'll recover faster that way."
Shichiro's eyes widened in surprise, before his brows furrowed in displeasure that Sasuke had hurt Rinn's feelings. He felt a little torn. On the one hand, he was pleased that Rinn would be seeing less of Sasuke for a while, but he hated that she was made to feel this way because of it.
As if acting on their own, Shichiro found his arms wrapping themselves around Rinn's miserable form before he could stop himself. To his amazement, she didn't push him away. In fact, she leant her head on his chest as he pulled his long black cloak around them both to try and reduce her shivering – it was a cold morning.
"It'll be OK, Rinn. I'm sure he doesn't mean it in a bad way. He's probably just got a little bit of cabin fever – as soon as he gets out of the hospital, he'll be back to his normal self," Shichiro reasoned, in slight disbelief that he was defending Sasuke, but at this point he really didn't care.
Having Rinn in his arms like this brought him such comfort, and underneath his stern exterior he was alight with joy inside. He let his chin rest gently on the top of her head, as he carefully stroked her hair with one of his gloved hands. Shichiro let out an almost inaudible sigh of content, wondering if he was still dreaming, or stuck in a genjutsu as he had previously thought!
What he didn't account for was that Rinn felt something new for Shichiro at this small act of affection, and it caught her off guard. Head on his chest, Rinn was able to hear his normally steady heartbeat picking up its pace, slowly but surely. She breathed in his scent, as she noticed the delicate and tender way in which he was holding her – it was so different from the passionate and strong way that Sasuke often embraced her, but that didn't make it any less meaningful. After being lost in the comforting moment for a minute or two, realisation struck her, and she quickly pulled away from him and took a step back.
The two looked at each other in silence for a moment, and Shichiro's expression was unreadable as she searched his sapphire-blue eyes in confusion. Smiling sadly at her, he almost looked... pained.
In his mind however, Shichiro was a great deal less stoic than he appeared on the outside. He wanted nothing more than to close the gap already forming between them, and pull her back into his arms, telling her he'd never shut her out like Sasuke does, and that he always has and always will protect her and that he...
... loves her.
But he knew he couldn't.
So he let her stand there in her bewilderment.
He didn't even reach out to her when her saddened expression reappeared on her face.
He just let her walk away.
- X -
A day or two later, when Rinn was having her lunchtime break from training and trying to cook some yummy stew, that there was frantic knocking at her door.
"Rinn! Rinn! Are you there? Rinn?!" A female voice said loudly over the persistent pounding. Sighing, she put down her wooden spoon on the kitchen side and dragged herself towards her front door.
"Coming!" She called, before unlocking the door and throwing it open to reveal a panicked...
"Sakura?!" Rinn said, blinking a little in astonishment.
"What's up, are you OK?" she asked, noting Sakura's flushed and distressed demeanour.
Rinn was almost starting to worry for the girl before she stated her business:
"Is Sasuke here?" The pink-haired ninja asked.
Rinn inwardly rolled her eyes.
I might've guessed...
"No, he's not, he's still at the hospital..." she began to explain.
Sakura shook her head at this.
"I've just come from the hospital, and he wasn't there! The nurses are really worried about him. After popping in to see Rock Lee I came straight here, as I thought this would be the first place he would come," she said, causing Rinn's look of boredom to instantly change to one of interest, and slight worry.
"He's disappeared from the hospital?" Rinn asked Sakura, who nodded.
Where on Earth could he be?! Why wouldn't he come here first to let me know he's all right? This is so unlike him. First, he stops me from visiting him, saying it'll give him more motivation to get out of there, and now he's out, he doesn't even call in?! What's gotten into you Sasuke...
Sakura waited patiently for Rinn to collect her thoughts, waiting for any advice or hints about Sasuke's whereabouts.
"Last time I saw him, he had his heart set on training. I suggest we start at the training grounds," Rinn said to Sakura, "Hold on a minute..."
Rinn left Sakura standing at her open door for a moment whilst she quickly shoved down a few mouthfuls of her stew, grabbed her bag and jacket and locking the door behind them.
"Right, let's go," Rinn said.
Sakura nodded in agreement, and they quickly set off for the training grounds.
- X -
Unusually, it was Tatsuo that first noticed the two girls' presence on the training grounds. He was practicing his exploding fireball technique on some shoddy home-made targets he had crafted when he spotted them approaching the corner of the clearing. Giving them a big wave, he signalled them to come over.
"Hey, Shichiro!" he called over to his teammate, who was practicing some weird technique that Tatsuo didn't have the foggiest about, but it looked pretty threatening as his eyes and rune tattoos were both glowing ominously.
No answer.
"Shichiro!" He called again, even louder.
Still nothing.
Getting impatient, Tatsuo decided to use another method to get his attention. In an instant, he had conjured up one of his basic fireballs and it was quickly accelerating towards the side of Shichiro's head. Without even flinching, Shichiro's arm flew out and caught the fireball, putting it out with a clench of his fist and some eerie aqua-coloured flames of his own, just inches before it would have hit him square in the left cheek.
"What is it?!" he shouted back to Tatsuo, still using his right hand to perform whatever technique he had been working on a moment before, eyes still forward.
"Sakura's here!" Tatsuo yelled back, wanting to mess with him a bit for his earlier ignorance.
Shichiro visibly grimaced.
"So...?!" he replied, desperately trying to maintain concentration on his jutsu.
Tatsuo chuckled to himself, amused that the teams gifted sensory ninja hadn't even noticed that the love of his life was but a few hundred metres away, and was getting closer by the second.
"I think she might need some help with something..."
"I'll say it again – So?!" Shichiro said irritably.
"I thought maybe you might want to help her..."
"Don't be so ridic-" Shichiro stopped himself mid-sentence and his eyes widened as he froze. The penny dropped.
Tatsuo watched in amusement as the ninja instantly stopped what he was doing and ran over towards him to greet the girls.
There we go, he's finally noticed Rinn's chakra! Took him long enough.
"Hey guys," Rinn said, and Sakura smiled as they reached Rinn's teammates.
"That was a quick lunch break, you're back already?" Tatsuo said, curious.
"Yeah, something's come up," she explained, causing Shichiro to raise an eyebrow.
"Is everything OK?" he asked, although what he really wanted to say was 'Are you OK'.
Rinn nodded and looked up at him, smiling, and as the two caught each other's eye the air suddenly became thick with tension. Sakura, not knowing any of the ninja surrounding her particularly well, was completely oblivious to this. Tatsuo, however, picked up on this in an instant, and made a mental note to grill Shichiro on it later.
"We're just having a bit of trouble finding Sasuke," Sakura finally said - the first sentence she had managed so far.
Shichiro visibly stiffened.
"He's still in the hospital – well at least he was supposed to be. But Sakura has just come from there and Sasuke has disappeared. He hasn't been in touch with me, and the nurses seem pretty worried, so we thought we'd better start a man-hunt!" Rinn continued, scratching the back of her head with a nervous laughter.
"You haven't seen him, have you?" Sakura urged.
"Nope, sorry ladies!" Tatsuo said, standing in-between the two girls and putting an arm around each of their shoulders.
"Don't worry though, I'm sure he hasn't gone far," He added, looking first to Sakura, then to Rinn, and finally to Shichiro.
"Sorry, I haven't seen him either," Shichiro said apologetically, eyes still flicking to Rinn when he thought nobody was watching.
Sakura sighed in disappointment.
"Thanks anyway, we'd best keep looking," she said, gesturing to an almost reluctant-looking Rinn to follow her. Rinn rolled her eyes as she followed after her, a few paces behind.
"Girls, wait a minute!" Shichiro called after them.
Tatsuo raised an eyebrow as they both stopped walking, and Shichiro caught up to them.
"I can probably locate him quite quickly with one of my jutsu, but I'll need to get up a bit higher," he offered, much to Sakura's joy.
Rinn's eyes narrowed as she looked at him questioningly, Sakura skipping off ahead in glee towards an area up ahead which had, as she put it, a 'nice tall tree' in it.
"Why are you helping?" Rinn asked under her breath as herself and Shichiro began to follow slowly behind Sakura.
"I might ask you the same thing... I saw your face when she said for you to keep looking for him. Aren't you worried about him?" Shichiro replied in a low whisper.
Rinn scoffed.
"Don't be silly. I'm about 95% sure he's absolutely fine. Sasuke can look after himself after all. But it would be nice to know where he ended up and if he's OK, just for my own peace of mind…
"...AND...
"she wouldn't have left until I agreed to help her anyway," she explained bitterly, pointing almost viciously ahead at the pink-haired ninja, who was none the wiser.
Shichiro laughed a little at this.
"I see..."
"Anyway, you still haven't explained why you're helping! You hate Sasuke..." Rinn said accusingly.
"Rinn, I don't hate the guy, I'm just not overly fond of him. He upsets you a little too much for my liking and his attitude stinks. There's something off about him and I just can't put my finger on it..."
"Hey! He's had a hard start in life – go easy on him!" Rinn said, becoming defensive about her friend.
"We all have, Rinn," he replied, half smiling at her, "But look at you, you've turned out perfectly," he teased, a full smile creeping up on his lips, causing Rinn to blush a little.
She was about to protest again when she was interrupted by Sakura.
"Well, here we are!" She said proudly, gesturing to a sizable tree.
Shichiro looked up at it in distain, slightly underwhelmed, but really any tree would've been fine – he only needed to be a few metres up in the air to get a good few miles' range.
"Thanks," He muttered, trying his hardest not to sound sarcastic as Rinn stifled a giggle with her hand.
In a matter of seconds, he was already up to the top of the tree. A short moment later, after a quick scan of the area, his feet were firmly back on the ground facing Rinn and Sakura.
"He's training with Kakashi. Looks like they're practicing some sort of lightning style," he said in bored tone as Rinn nodded and Sakura looked utterly perplexed.
"Well, that's that then, let's get back to training!" Rinn said, beginning to walk away.
"Wait what?" Sakura interrupted, "How can you know that?!"
"He just knows," Rinn said, "Shichiro can sense all different types and forms of chakra from great distances. That's why he's such a skilled sensory ninja."
"Well, aren't we going to go and check on him?" Sakura pestered, beginning to annoy both Shichiro and Rinn.
"Sakura, I know you're concerned, but I'm sure Sasuke's absolutely fine. He's with Kakashi. He's training. If there was anything wrong with him, I doubt Kakashi would be putting any extra strain on him, do you?" Rinn reasoned.
"Well no..."
"And if I were him, being this behind on my training, I certainly wouldn't want to be interrupted," Shichiro added, as Rinn shot him a glare for saying Sasuke was behind.
"I guess you're right. I'd actually do well to get back to my own training, now that you mention it… Even though I didn't make it through to the next round I want to make sure I'm doing everything I can to catch up to my teammates... Thanks for your help, Rinn, Shichiro," Sakura said, eventually giving in.
"No problem Sakura!" Rinn said.
Shichiro nodded in acknowledgement, and he and Rinn made their way back to Tatsuo in one direction, whilst Sakura went in another. As they walked, Rinn was struck by the obvious concern written across Shichiro's face, and she waited for him to say something.
A few minutes later, she realised he wasn't going to, so decided to ask him outright.
"What're you thinking about? You look like something's bothering you," She asked.
Shichiro thought for a moment, deducing whether or not he could get away with not telling her.
"Kakashi's teaching Sasuke Chidori," He blurted out.
"Chi-what? And so what? A jutsu's a jutsu right?"
"Not exactly. This one's a particularly nasty one. It's very powerful, and as far as I'm aware Kakashi's the only one who possesses this technique..."
"Oh cool! So Sasuke's gonna have a sweet new jutsu to beat that crazy Gaara guy with. Thank God for that, I was worried he was going to really struggle otherwise..." She trailed off as she noticed Shichiro's still stoic expression.
"I don't think you understand me. A jutsu as destructive as that can be dangerous in the wrong hands..."
"What are you trying to say about Sasuke?" She said sternly.
Shichiro stopped walking for a moment and looked her dead in the eyes. Rinn could see by the way his blue orbs were flickering that he was torn about something.
But what could it be?
I can't explain to her what a risk Sasuke is without having to tell her about the true nature of his curse mark... And that would only lead to her asking questions about Orochimaru, which would mean-
"You know what, don't worry. I've decided, in my infinite wisdom..." She began, chuckling, "That I'm going to just have to accept that my two favourite boys will never get along! It's gonna cause me waaaaay too much agro otherwise!"
She threw an arm around Shichiro's waist as she dragged him forwards to start them off walking again. He, however, was still going over her words in his head.
Two. Favourite. Boys?
I'm one of her favourites?
Like, the same level as Sasuke favourite?
He grinned in disbelief as he joined in and wrapped an arm around Rinn's waist as they made their way back to Tatsuo.
"Thanks for helping me and Sakura today Shichiro... I know you don't like Sasuke, so I really appreciate that you used your jutsu to find him," Rinn said airily, really enjoying being around Shichiro again since he'd stopped being so grumpy and strict around her. He was finally getting back to his normal self, like she remembered him before her team arrived back at the Hidden Leaf Village.
"Don't mention it, anything for a teammate," he said genuinely, giving her a subtle squeeze as they walked.
"Come round for dinner tonight, I'll make you something to say thank you!"
"W-what? You don't have to do that..."
"No honestly, come over! It'll be nice to have the company anyway."
Shichiro didn't know what to say.
Could today get any better?
"Thanks Rinn, I'd love to."
- X -
Shichiro's mind was distracted for the rest of the day. It surprised him just how much he was looking forward to spending the evening with Rinn. Even during all their years training together in the isolated mountain range, there had only been a handful of times Shichiro could recall that he and Rinn had been left alone together.
When he made it to Rinn's front door after a post-training shower and change of clothes, he suddenly became very hesitant.
What is this feeling?
Am I...
Nervous?
Shichiro tentatively knocked on the door three times before calling out, just in case she thought it might be Sakura or someone bothering her.
"Hey, Rinn... Uh... It's Shichiro..." He said, tripping up on his words a little.
He gulped as he heard her fiddle with the lock on her door before it suddenly flung open, revealing a beaming Rinn.
"Hey! Come in, Come in!" She said, ushering him inside and closing the door, locking it behind him.
Shichiro took off his shoes and hovered awkwardly just inside the doorway, unsure of quite what to do with himself. Rinn thought this was quite sweet - he was normally so serious.
"Can I take your cloak or anything...?" Rinn offered, eyeing his floor-length black cloak that he was never seen without.
Come to think of it, I can't remember the last time I saw him witho-WHOAH.
Rinn's eyes widened as Shichiro removed his cloak and gloves, to reveal handsomely muscular arms. His runic tattoos extended all the way to his knuckles, and he wore a plain black top and trousers underneath, not too tight, but well fitting. Rinn had to pick her jaw up off the floor – she had never taken the time to really appreciate what was hidden under that cloak of his...
"Umm, Rinn? Is everything OK? Have I done something wrong...?" Shichiro asked, noticing the strange look she was giving him and instantly assuming the worst.
"Is it the tattoos? Because I can cover them if you-"
"They're beautiful," Rinn cut in, becoming ever more mesmerised by the symbols and shapes in front of her.
As if being drawn in by some magic power, Rinn closed the gap between them and delicately traced her index finger over some of the runes inked onto his forearm. Shichiro's breath hitched. What on earth was she doing?! The tenderness of her touch deeply affected Shichiro, who has experienced very little affection in his life, and he could do nothing but watch her as she inspected his artwork.
Still transfixed, Rinn broke the silence with a mumble:
"What do they all mean?" She asked, desperate to know their secrets.
Shichiro cleared his throat a little before he was able to speak.
"Well, the one you're on now is for protection, and the one above it... *gulp*... vitality."
Rinn gently took his forearm at the wrist and turned it over so she could inspect its underside, finding a particularly intricate sigil on the inside of his wrist. As she absent-mindedly traced over this one too, she caught a particularly sensitive area of his skin that made him shudder a little. Rinn brought her emerald eyes up to his sapphire orbs.
"I'm really sorry... Are you cold?" she asked in concern.
"No... Quite the opposite actually..." He said nervously, giving her an insecure little half smile that would make anyone's heart melt.
"Do you... Have any more?" Rinn asked, blushing a little.
Shichiro nodded.
"Where?"
"Everywhere."
"Could I... Draw some of them?"
Shichiro blinked at her, perplexed. He knew she loved to paint and draw, but why his tattoos? He'd always seen them as ugly branding marks – he hated them. And yet here she was, calling them beautiful?
"Uh... Sure?"
Rinn grinned at him happily.
"I'll be right back!" She said eagerly, running upstairs to get some art materials, "Please – have a seat anywhere you like!" She called down from upstairs.
Shichiro chose to sit on one of the sofas in the living room which was near to the front door. Heart still pounding, he gently placed his hands together in his lap, leaning forward slightly whilst trying to calm his nerves.
Rinn quickly made it back downstairs with her sketchbook and charcoal in tow, ready to get started. She sat down on the back edge of the sofa, giving her a good view of Shichiro who was lower than her on the seat. Just as she was about to put charcoal to paper, a look of mortification appeared across her face.
"Oh my gosh I'm so sorry! Are you hungry? I said I'd feed you and here I am-"
"It's fine, I'm not hungry. I can wait until you're finished," he reassured, smiling at her. In all honesty, when he was getting his dinner was the last thing on his mind right now.
"Are you sure?"
Shichiro nodded in response.
"Thank you!"
Rinn spent the next fifteen minutes or so filling a few pages with her favourite runes and sigils from Shichiro's skin, turning his limbs this was and that to try and get the best angle for her sketching. Seemingly out of things to draw, Rinn looked at him expectantly.
"W-what?" he asked innocently, not used to all the attention he was getting.
"Do you have any bigger ones?" She asked, equally as innocently.
"Well, yeah of course but..."
"But...?"
"Well I can't s-show you..."
"Why not?!" Rinn exclaimed in mock horror, causing Shichiro to let out a small chuckle.
"Because they're covered,"
"By what?"
Shichiro gave her a deadpanned look that said 'are you really that dumb?' for a moment before the penny finally dropped.
"OHHHH. By your clothes!" she said when realisation hit her.
She thought for a moment.
"Take something off," she said, grinning.
This sounded way more sexual to Shichiro than she had probably meant it to, and his bit his lip both in thought and in an attempt to calm himself. He shook his head.
"No, I can't..."
"Why not?"
"..."
"See?! You don't have a reason, do you?"
"..."
"Look, I'm not asking you to get naked - I'm not a pervert... I just want to see some more of this stuff, it's stunning," She pestered, giving him a genuine smile.
"I have other... marks... under there... As well as my tattoos," he said, with uncertainty.
"What do you mean?" Rinn asked, starting to worry at the sudden sombre change in Shichiro's demeanour. He fidgeted a little on the sofa, sitting forward once again and clasping his hands together in his lap, as he often did. He bit his lip, unsure of how to approach the subject.
In almost a childlike manner, he looked up at her sideways through his shaggy black hair, blinking slightly in disbelief as he felt Rinn lay a hand on his shoulder and give it an encouraging squeeze. She smiled gently, signalling him to continue.
"I don't want to go into it too much... But my clan was very... tribal. They were quite barbaric and ritualistic, even towards us children. In the end, that's why the great nations decided to wipe them out," he explained, eyes glued to the floor, not wanting to see her reaction. If he had looked up, he would have seen not a look of shock, horror, or disgust, but a look of hurt that her friend had been raised in such a volatile atmosphere.
"Show me," she said, unphased.
Shichiro thought quietly for a moment. All his life he had devoted so much energy to hiding everything about himself, and yet, here he was, with the girl of his dreams, arguing with her to keep his clothes on. It sounded ridiculous, but he was terrified to show her. Terrified to let someone in.
In a moment of unprecedented impulsiveness, Shichiro reached down to the lower hem of his shirt, and gently lifted it over his head, revealing a muscular physique underneath, as well as painstakingly intricate designs across his chest, ribs, back and shoulders. He tensed a little, as he waited for Rinn to back away in horror and tell him to put his shirt back on right away.
But she didn't.
"Wow..." She breathed out, as she saw the beautiful details inscribed on his back, "Incredible."
Right away, Shichiro heard the scratching of charcoal as she began frantically sketching the detailed design; every curve, every flourish, every ancient symbol... Occasionally her charcoal would stop, and she would frown slightly, as her eyes skipped over various scars, old burns and brands dotted about Shichiro's torso.
She felt awful that he had suffered so much at such a young age, and wanted to know more about what had happened to him, but knew that now was not the time to ask. Shichiro was just starting to relax a little, watching in admiration as Rinn's hypnotising emerald eyes darted about the page as she sketched. He had always appreciated her creativity and artistic ability, even when they were younger. And here he was, sat half-naked in her living room, as she drew minutely accurate copies of his tattoos in her sketchbook – he almost had to pinch himself. Gradually, he was letting down the walls he had built up around him, and Rinn felt this too.
Just as she was about to finish the last curve of a cipher on Shichiro's back, the front door unlocked and flew open.
"Hey Rinn, sorry I-" The intruder suddenly fell silent.
Sasuke.
"Hey, what took you so lo...long..." Rinn trailed off as she saw his face as he walked further into the house, not even bothering to remove his shoes.
He was seething.
His fists were clenched as he glared murderously at Shichiro, his sharingan activating immediately as if they had a mind of their own. Shichiro sighed and leaned back onto the sofa, already sensing this wasn't going to end well.
"What's he doing here?" Sasuke spat venomously, not taking his eyes off of the tattooed male.
Rinn exhaled in irritation.
"Shichiro's joining me for dinner. I made enough for three so you can hav-"
"That doesn't explain why he's sitting half naked on our sofa," He interrupted, through gritted teeth, sharingan still active.
Shichiro opened his mouth to speak, but an enraged Rinn beat him to it.
"Excuse me?! Our sofa?! Sasuke, this is my house, and I will have whoever I want in it, whenever I want, however I want!" She said, raising her voice slightly.
"If you must know, I was sketching his tattoos, look at how-"
Sasuke looked over at her and it caused her to stop dead in the middle of her sentence. She hadn't seen him this angry in a long time, and it frightened her a bit. His red eyes were ablaze with fury, yet behind them, there was something else. Something she couldn't put her finger on.
Sasuke took a step forward.
Rinn took a step back.
Shichiro, now with his shirt back on, stepped in front of Rinn.
Looking at the way Shichiro stood in front of Rinn, his Rinn, so protectively, and how Rinn allowed him to do so without so much as an utter of complaint, hurt Sasuke in a way he couldn't describe.
Anger and sadness mixed together into a dangerous cocktail of volatile emotions, and he felt the curse mark starting to try and work its way out of the seal. He looked at them both, the fire in his eyes growing exponentially.
Rinn's heart began to pound, beginning to worry how this might end. She was poised ready to use her shielding jutsu should she need to, just as a defence.
Momentarily regaining a hold on himself, Rinn watched as Sasuke's eyes reverted back to their usual obsidian colour – although it looked like he had to force them to. Sasuke gave her one last look, his eyes almost looking a little watery, and for a split second the pain he felt was written all over his face. Picking up on this immediately, Rinn reached forward from behind Shichiro with one of her arms, but Sasuke's gaze had dropped to the floor.
Saying nothing, he turned around, picked up his keys, and stormed out of the front door, slamming it behind him.