By RequiemofDementia
Chapter Eight: Introductions
Once again, Chie sat on the outside. The group were within Konoha once again, having stopped at a restaurant for the last meal of the day. Once again, Riki had ordered ramen, perhaps just to upset Airen, who sat calmly, ignoring Riki and eating her rice balls. Chie was seated further back, having already finished his bowl of rice.
The reason that Chie was sitting back so far sat across the table from Riki and Airen. Three other ninja of Konoha village sat, introductions in the process of being made. Kiba had already introduced himself and his team mates, Shino and Hinata.
Kiba was already getting on well with Airen, both enjoying a discussion about the small dog that even now lounged on Kiba's head. Riki and Shino, however, were not getting on so well. As a matter of fact, they were not getting on at all. They both simply sat silently, watching.
It was the third member of this team that had caught Chie's interest, which had already caused a blush to form on his pale cheeks. Hinata say at the table with everyone else, but her eyes were timidly downcast, two fingers raised and touching faintly.
Somewhere off in the distance of the restaurant, they could hear Shinzui speaking with Kurenai, the sensei of this new team.
Akamaru was hungry. It was not a rumble from his stomach that gave that away, or a bark, or any other kind of normal, dog like signal. It was more the fact that every time Kiba tried to take a bite of his food, the dog leaned down, snatching the food from his chopsticks.
Airen was giggling as she watched this; it seemed to be a game between the two. She had never before seen a person and an animal so close to each other. It amazed her, and she found it very sweet.
Timidly, she raised up her own chopsticks, offering the tiny canine some of her own meal, which he wolfed down gratefully. Smiling to herself, Airen leaned back in her seat, watching the dog for a moment, and then looking around.
At that was when she noticed it. Although Hinata's eyes were upon the table, Chie's eyes were locked on Hinata. Airen continued to watch, and she realized that she had not simply noticed Chie glancing in Hinata's direction, but rather that the timid little ninja was staring at her. Her foot tapped Chie's faintly, and he blushed brighter, quickly whispering something about finding Shinzui and stepping away from the table.
Hinata's eyes rose slowly, and she watched him go.
The other team had left by the time that Chie returned with Shinzui, but Airen had seen the Hyuuga girl peering about for a sign of Chie a couple of times.
Shinzui settled himself down in a seat slowly, looking at his three companions. "Did you enjoy your meal?"
Airen nodded, as did Riki. Chie's mind, however, was clearly on something else, his eyes upon the door of the restaurant.
"Good," Shinzui said softly, as he leaned back a little. He himself had not eaten yet. "Now, I know you have been wondering where we will be staying." Airen nodded once again, but as he always did, Riki just grunted. "Well, since Airen and I are not only members of the Hitomi clan, but we are also the only surviving members of the clan, the Hitomi estate, which has been kept in a semblance of cleanliness by Konoha, belongs to us."
Riki smiled a little. This sounded like it meant a large house, which would involve being able to sleep in his own room, instead of in a sleeping bag with two others huddled against him to steal his body heat.
"The whole estate?" Airen asked softly. She did not remember their old home well, but from what she did remember, it was very large. As Shinzui nodded, she thought to herself. "But, won't it be large? Won't it seem lonely there?"
Shinzui smiled softly, as he leaned forward. "Yes, at first. However, I do intend on possibly renting some of the rooms to people around the village who might need the accommodation."
The grounds of the estate were indeed large. The building itself was designed to fit a whole clan, and so Riki had all the room that he might desire. Airen had been the first to pick her room, which was the same room she had been in when a child. Chie quickly picked the room next to hers, which had once been Shinzui's. Following this, Riki, of course, chose one as far away from the others as possible.
After some argument with Airen, Shinzui found himself stuck with the largest room in the building, always reserved for the head of the Hitomi family. Shinzui had been planning on avoiding that room as much as possible, but Airen knew that, as the current head of the Hitomi, he could not run from who he was.
However much he might want to.
Alone, Shinzui sat upon the bed that his father had once slept in, left to wonder about the fate of the Hitomi clan, what had come, and what would be.
It had been a long time since Airen had been woken by a gentle kick to her side, but it would seem that the training had begun again. Even before her eyes had opened, Shinzui had gone. She grumbled to herself as she began to prepare for her day. Clearly, Shinzui had decided that just because they were now Leaf Ninja, they did not get some kind of break from their training.
By the time Airen had dressed and reached the front of the estate, Chie and Riki were already there. Chie looked immaculate, as always, and as always, Riki looked as if he had slept in his clothing.
However, it was something else that drew Airen's attention. The man from earlier, Iruka, was in the estate, talking softly to Shinzui. Their words were hushed, and the others could not overhear, but when the conversation had ended, Shinzui was walking towards Konoha, and Iruka towards the three.
"As the head of the Hitomi family, Shinzui has come under a large amount of responsibility," Iruka said softly, not envying Shinzui at all. By the end of the day, Shinzui was going to be dealing with Konoha village matters on behalf of one of the village's rare bloodlines. All Iruka had to do was teach.
Chie bowed his head, clearly uneasy at the thought of learning from a stranger. Airen was shocked, although she was glad that it meant a chance to get to know Iruka better. And even Riki showed some displeasure that Shinzui was going to be busy.
"As you know, I am Umino Iruka. I teach at the academy here. And, for today, I am here to teach you."
"For today?" Riki asked faintly. It seemed unusual to him that Shinzui's 'extra responsibilities' would take only a day.
"Yes." Iruka replied calmly. "As I am needed elsewhere, I will only be here for a day. By the end of the day, someone will have been appointed as your regular sensei."
Airen frowned a little, having wished that Iruka would be the one to replace Shinzui. "Do you have any idea who?" she asked softly.
Iruka simply shook his head, as he began to look the three of them over. "Well, let's get to work."
By the end of the day, all three of them knew why Iruka was a teacher. He was a pleasant enough man, if a bit strict with teaching them. He seemed unused to dealing with people other then children, and so the lessons had been rather unusual at points, as Iruka tried to fit his teaching methods to the students.
When Shinzui came home, Chie had never been so relieved. After a whole day learning from a complete stranger, the poor little boy's face seemed a constant shade of red, his eyes downcast.
And yet, Shinzui had returned, walking slowly, the older ninja Kakashi by his side. The two of them were not speaking at the moment, as both of them checked to see how Iruka had been doing with the students.
"Everyone, you all know Kakashi." The three of them nodded, as Shinzui introduced the man with him. He was about to speak again, when Iruka bowed to him. He was startled by this, even though it had been happening all day. For some reason, people here bowed to him, as if being the head of a two person clan was something important. "Did you have any trouble, Iruka?"
Iruka smiled and shook his head. "If I could speak with you a moment, Shinzui?"
The man nodded slowly, and both he and Iruka wandered off together, leaving the three before Kakashi. When his eye met Airen, she blushed a little, stepping back, wondering if her earlier attempt at hugging him had made him feel uncomfortable. If it had, he showed no sign.
"So," Kakashi said softly, "do any of you know when Shinzui's arranged marriage is going ahead?"
Chie looked as if Kakashi had clubbed him over the back of the head, his eyes almost bulging out from his skull. Airen seemed to fare little better. Even Riki went as far as to raise a questioning eyebrow.
"Oh…" Kakashi looked around slowly. "It was nice seeing you all." And with that, Kakashi was gone once again.
Chie and Airen looked to each other, wearing identical expressions of shock. Riki chuckled faintly. "Arranged marriage." The two looked over at him slowly, and he shrugged his shoulders. "You have to admit, it's funny."
"But… what if… he doesn't even like her?" Chie asked faintly. "Or if he doesn't even know her?"
Riki just shrugged once more, before turning to walk away. "Ask him, not me." And then, he disappeared back inside the building.
Chie looked to Airen once again, his eyes full of worry for Shinzui. "Do you think he will be okay?"
"Who?"
Chie literally leapt into the air when he heard Shinzui's voice, and then quickly followed after Riki into the house.
Airen's eyes met Shinzui, and she smiled a little. "So, arranged marriage, huh?"
Shinzui grimaced, and then growled under his breath. "I have to teach Kakashi to keep his mouth shut." Shinzui knew that Kakashi did not let things slip, he was too good a ninja for that. He had told the young ones for a reason. Shinzui just did not know the reason. "You'll be meeting her soon enough. She arrives in a few days."
Airen nodded slowly, and then the two of them wandered into the house together. That was going to be very interesting indeed.
Yume's hand rapped at the door. In her other hand, she held the notice that there were rooms for rent here. As much as she did not like the idea of living with strangers, she did need to find a new place to live. She had been living on a friends couch for far too long, and that was not the kind of image that a new Chuunin wanted.
After a moment, the door was opened, and one of the largest, most imposing men that she had ever seen loomed over her. "What?"
Whoever this man was, he seemed to think he was some kind of bouncer or guard. "I'm here about the ad." She waved the piece of paper under his nose, just to make sure he knew what she was talking about. With a grunt, he let her in.
Leading the way, Riki lead her through the house. Or, he started walking, and if she chose to follow, she would get to the right place. Riki wasn't much of a leader, or a follower. He was just Riki.
Yume followed after him slowly, wondering just what kind of place this was. If everyone was like this man, maybe she did not need to find a new place to live quite so badly.
In the dining room, however, she found a very different scene. Riki just sat himself down, still saying nothing, but Airen walked over. "Riki, who's your friend?"
The shoulders rose and fell once more. "Lodger."
Airen smiled, bowing her head in greeting. "Hitomi Airen," she said softly.
The other woman smiled, holding out her hand. "Ohira Yume."
"Be welcome here, Ohira Yume," Shinzui called out, as he walked into the dining room. "You are just in time, Chie is almost finished cooking."
Yume smiled softly, bowing her head in respect. "Hitomi Shinzui," she said softly. She knew that Shinzui was now the head of a clan, that had once held great power and respect in Konoha.
"Not so formal, please. Come, have a seat."
Yume smiled softly, sitting across from Riki, but neither paid much attention to the other. "I am interested in renting a room."
After dinner, Airen and Yume wandered the building, as she worked on picking out a room for herself.
"So, what do you do?"
Yume smiled proudly as she answered. "I'm a Chuunin."
The conversation quickly moved to the Chuunin exam, as that was something that Airen had always wondered about. Even though he had only been nine at the time, Shinzui had taken the Chuunin exam once. She had remembered something about him failing at the first test.
That was when Yume chose her room, directly across from Airen's. "So, where is the bathroom?"
Airen gave her a quick tour of the estate, and then left her to her bathing.
Shinzui sat upon the bed once more, his eyes on the ceiling. Today had not been a fun one, but the reminder of his arranged marriage at the end had been a very pleasant reminder. A smile crossed his lips, as he thought about seeing Rei again.
Author's notes.
I have begun thinking. A rare thing indeed for me. My characters need to be more then just ninja, they need to be people as well. (Other, original character writers could read this a few times. This extra effort is what makes the original characters so good, and might make your original characters more likable).
I have decided to start fleshing them all out, and have fun. Hope you like.
Enjoy! :)