Ah, a quiet moment. That doesn't happen very often in my life, maybe every other week or so. But when you're in a position like I am, you always have to be alert. This may sound a bit weird, but I don't only take care of myself. Aside from my family, there is one angelic Lucifer-in-disguise that I protect.
You see, I am a ninja. And as a ninja, more specifically, a Takamura Ninja, it is tradition to choose someone to protect for the rest of their lives. As I mentioned a second earlier, my someone, or "One" as I like to call him, may seem like a charming, kind, and rational person. But you have to be with him for a while to see that he is a manipulative little schemer that can bend and twist everything you say and-don't get me wrong, I love him like he was my brother and everything, but I have yet to discover how to get him to work on his friggin' paperwork!!!
Meet Imonoyama Nokoru. 20 years old now, still as adorable as he was when I met him 11 years ago. (The ladies still think so as well.) With short, wavy golden hair and constantly bright blue eyes, all the ladies absolutely adore him, as well as anyone he comes into contact with. Well, except for the kidnappers.
Oh, did I forget to mention that my One is brilliant and wealthy? In fact, his Zaibatsu is the largest financial group in all of Japan. Doesn't that just set a neon sign right over his head flashing "Take me, I'm rich and powerful"? I know he didn't ASK to be like that, but it kind of makes me wonder how the hell I got tied up into all this.
As for my family, we're pretty well known ourselves as one of the greatest martial arts clan in Japan. My ancestors were all ninjas, born and bred to protect their chosen. My family has kept this tradition alive, making all of us ninjas ourselves. As the eldest, I will take over all clan duties when I have reached age next year. My mother and I were talking the other day. About duty and choice.
"Suoh-san," she began, eyes calm. She gave me a sort of small smile.
"Hai," I replied, relaxed, but not too relaxed. In her house, you have to be prepared for anything. She often springs traps, or flings sharp objects at me to make sure I'm 'alert.' I always am. She taught me well.
"How is Nokoru-san?"
I grin at the mention of my One. "He's fine," I respond, and my mother looks proud. She slowly takes a sip of tea, then looks back to me. "I'm glad." She pauses for a moment, and she seems to be thinking. "Suoh-san, are you enjoying life?"
My first reaction was to smile and say 'what kind of a question is that', but for some reason, it made me think.
"...Well," I began, trying to put my life history in a way that she would understand. That wouldn't be easy to do. "I'm excelling in school, I have dear friends and my One that I care about, my girlfriend Nagisa...yes. I am content."
"Will you marry Nagisa?"
"Hahaue!" I exclaim, blushing, "I-I-I..." She caught me off-guard with that question. I'm not that great at speaking when it involves a lady, especially one I like. I was never one to put those kinds of things into words...
"Well?"
To satisfy my mother, I merely answer, "Perhaps." She grins. I look out the window, hoping the blush will fade. Geez, she ALWAYS has to say something like that!
The wind blows in through the open window, and my sleeve brushes upward, revealing a small scar across the side of my left shoulder. Hahaue catches me grinning, and she asks me why. "My One lived because of that," I state simply, taking a sip of my own tea. I look back up to see that that has also made her proud.
It had been a few years back. Nokoru and I were outside, just enjoying the sunshine when it had happened. It took me a split second to realize what was happening when I caught the slight sound of a gunshot from the muffled gun. I quickly shoved Nokoru behind me and braced myself. Half a second later, the bullet struck me in the arm. It didn't hurt nearly as much as I thought it would. What was hurting was the fact that Nokoru's nails were digging into my shoulders. That was three years ago.
"You make the Takamura Clan proud."
"Arigato," I say, grinning. Then I stand. "I must be going. Nokoru has a lot of work to do, and I'm sure he hasn't even started it yet."
She laughed. "Another duty you must attend to!" she said, and I nodded. Then I bowed respectively and walked from the house.
As I walked down the path and towards the High School Student Council Building, I wondered what kind of excuse Kaichou would be using this time. Let's see, he used the "I went on vacation, I'm too tired to work" one yesterday, and I usually don't hear the "I had to save a lady" one until Friday...
When I swung open the door, sure enough, there was my One, surrounded by piles of paperwork. But what was HE doing? Typing on the computer in front of him. He looked up nonchalantly and gave me a smile. When I moved closer and raised an eyebrow at the paperwork, he quickly switched to his defense mode.
"You see, there was this guy..."
"You used that one last week." I cut in.
"A lady?"
"Not until Friday."
"I went on vacation?"
"Yesterday."
"Um..."
"Give it up, Kaichou," I grinned, "You can't win."
Nokoru laughed and leaned back in his leather armchair. "Actually, all the work's done." I must have given him the strangest look, because he took one look and practically fell out of his chair with laughter.
A second later, the door opened and Ijyuin Akira, a mutual close friend of ours, and also the treasurer of our council, walked in with a large stack of papers.
"Kaichou!" he called energetically, "These are for you!" Even with my back turned to him, I could just picture Kaichou making a face. I held back a laugh.
"Hello, Ijyuin," I greeted him and took the papers. With a smug grin, I dropped them right in front of Nokoru, who whined.
"Can't I take a five-minute break first?" he asked pleadingly.
"No," I responded, "The sooner you get them done, the faster you can leave."
Sighing, Nokoru picked up a pen and got back to work. Ijyuin tried to hold back a giggle but failed.
It seemed like 2 minutes later when he was halfway through the work, Kaichou started to make up a song. All I heard at first was "I am ninja", so I leaned towards him.
"Excuse me?" I ask, giving him a look, "what was that?"
Without looking up or stopping his work, he smiles and repeats it.
"I am ninja, hear me roar, my shurikens are too sharp to ignore!!!" While I stood there blushing and stunned, Ijyuin and Nokoru laughed and this time Nokoru DID fall over.
"That's great, Kaichou!" Ijyuin managed to get out. I glared at him, and Nokoru laughed even harder. He stood up seconds later, and took a deep breath. He fanned himself with a white fan that had just appeared in his hand and he headed out the door. "Really, Suoh, you're so much fun to play with!" he left the room, Ijyuin following closely behind. I blink, then something came to my attention.
"Hey! WAIT! YOU'RE NOT DONE WITH THE WORK YET!!!"
You see, I am a ninja. And as a ninja, more specifically, a Takamura Ninja, it is tradition to choose someone to protect for the rest of their lives. As I mentioned a second earlier, my someone, or "One" as I like to call him, may seem like a charming, kind, and rational person. But you have to be with him for a while to see that he is a manipulative little schemer that can bend and twist everything you say and-don't get me wrong, I love him like he was my brother and everything, but I have yet to discover how to get him to work on his friggin' paperwork!!!
Meet Imonoyama Nokoru. 20 years old now, still as adorable as he was when I met him 11 years ago. (The ladies still think so as well.) With short, wavy golden hair and constantly bright blue eyes, all the ladies absolutely adore him, as well as anyone he comes into contact with. Well, except for the kidnappers.
Oh, did I forget to mention that my One is brilliant and wealthy? In fact, his Zaibatsu is the largest financial group in all of Japan. Doesn't that just set a neon sign right over his head flashing "Take me, I'm rich and powerful"? I know he didn't ASK to be like that, but it kind of makes me wonder how the hell I got tied up into all this.
As for my family, we're pretty well known ourselves as one of the greatest martial arts clan in Japan. My ancestors were all ninjas, born and bred to protect their chosen. My family has kept this tradition alive, making all of us ninjas ourselves. As the eldest, I will take over all clan duties when I have reached age next year. My mother and I were talking the other day. About duty and choice.
"Suoh-san," she began, eyes calm. She gave me a sort of small smile.
"Hai," I replied, relaxed, but not too relaxed. In her house, you have to be prepared for anything. She often springs traps, or flings sharp objects at me to make sure I'm 'alert.' I always am. She taught me well.
"How is Nokoru-san?"
I grin at the mention of my One. "He's fine," I respond, and my mother looks proud. She slowly takes a sip of tea, then looks back to me. "I'm glad." She pauses for a moment, and she seems to be thinking. "Suoh-san, are you enjoying life?"
My first reaction was to smile and say 'what kind of a question is that', but for some reason, it made me think.
"...Well," I began, trying to put my life history in a way that she would understand. That wouldn't be easy to do. "I'm excelling in school, I have dear friends and my One that I care about, my girlfriend Nagisa...yes. I am content."
"Will you marry Nagisa?"
"Hahaue!" I exclaim, blushing, "I-I-I..." She caught me off-guard with that question. I'm not that great at speaking when it involves a lady, especially one I like. I was never one to put those kinds of things into words...
"Well?"
To satisfy my mother, I merely answer, "Perhaps." She grins. I look out the window, hoping the blush will fade. Geez, she ALWAYS has to say something like that!
The wind blows in through the open window, and my sleeve brushes upward, revealing a small scar across the side of my left shoulder. Hahaue catches me grinning, and she asks me why. "My One lived because of that," I state simply, taking a sip of my own tea. I look back up to see that that has also made her proud.
It had been a few years back. Nokoru and I were outside, just enjoying the sunshine when it had happened. It took me a split second to realize what was happening when I caught the slight sound of a gunshot from the muffled gun. I quickly shoved Nokoru behind me and braced myself. Half a second later, the bullet struck me in the arm. It didn't hurt nearly as much as I thought it would. What was hurting was the fact that Nokoru's nails were digging into my shoulders. That was three years ago.
"You make the Takamura Clan proud."
"Arigato," I say, grinning. Then I stand. "I must be going. Nokoru has a lot of work to do, and I'm sure he hasn't even started it yet."
She laughed. "Another duty you must attend to!" she said, and I nodded. Then I bowed respectively and walked from the house.
As I walked down the path and towards the High School Student Council Building, I wondered what kind of excuse Kaichou would be using this time. Let's see, he used the "I went on vacation, I'm too tired to work" one yesterday, and I usually don't hear the "I had to save a lady" one until Friday...
When I swung open the door, sure enough, there was my One, surrounded by piles of paperwork. But what was HE doing? Typing on the computer in front of him. He looked up nonchalantly and gave me a smile. When I moved closer and raised an eyebrow at the paperwork, he quickly switched to his defense mode.
"You see, there was this guy..."
"You used that one last week." I cut in.
"A lady?"
"Not until Friday."
"I went on vacation?"
"Yesterday."
"Um..."
"Give it up, Kaichou," I grinned, "You can't win."
Nokoru laughed and leaned back in his leather armchair. "Actually, all the work's done." I must have given him the strangest look, because he took one look and practically fell out of his chair with laughter.
A second later, the door opened and Ijyuin Akira, a mutual close friend of ours, and also the treasurer of our council, walked in with a large stack of papers.
"Kaichou!" he called energetically, "These are for you!" Even with my back turned to him, I could just picture Kaichou making a face. I held back a laugh.
"Hello, Ijyuin," I greeted him and took the papers. With a smug grin, I dropped them right in front of Nokoru, who whined.
"Can't I take a five-minute break first?" he asked pleadingly.
"No," I responded, "The sooner you get them done, the faster you can leave."
Sighing, Nokoru picked up a pen and got back to work. Ijyuin tried to hold back a giggle but failed.
It seemed like 2 minutes later when he was halfway through the work, Kaichou started to make up a song. All I heard at first was "I am ninja", so I leaned towards him.
"Excuse me?" I ask, giving him a look, "what was that?"
Without looking up or stopping his work, he smiles and repeats it.
"I am ninja, hear me roar, my shurikens are too sharp to ignore!!!" While I stood there blushing and stunned, Ijyuin and Nokoru laughed and this time Nokoru DID fall over.
"That's great, Kaichou!" Ijyuin managed to get out. I glared at him, and Nokoru laughed even harder. He stood up seconds later, and took a deep breath. He fanned himself with a white fan that had just appeared in his hand and he headed out the door. "Really, Suoh, you're so much fun to play with!" he left the room, Ijyuin following closely behind. I blink, then something came to my attention.
"Hey! WAIT! YOU'RE NOT DONE WITH THE WORK YET!!!"