A/N: Sorry for the late upload last time! I had it looked at by a friend and then forgot to ask them about it. They gave me the go ahead the other day and I went and uploaded it. Sorry again. Let's get on with the show.
Denji couldn't help but feel a sense of smugness. Aika had no one to blame but herself now that all was said and done. He glanced over to Aika, who was keeping herself facing forward, much to Denji's amusement. She was the one who noticed Denji was fawning over the girl, Tomoko, and was getting fed up with his constant lack of attention when she was talking. So she said if he wanted her so bad, just ask her to join. Now, a couple hours from the village, Denji was talking to Tomoko about some of the things that were funny that happened to them. She seemed to be enjoying his stories.
"So then Arine goes at Yukio with this, just, this rage in her eyes and he just dodges every swipe and stab she can let loose on him." Denji waved his hands in the air in some motion meant to symbolise Arine and Yukio's various sparring matches. Tomoko smiled and giggled a bit and Denji felt a bit more self-confident. The more he talked with her the easier it got. A lot better than his nervous asking when they met. Now Denji was regaling tales to her like it was second nature, as if they'd known each other for quite a while.
"You have quite the arsenal of stories." Tomoko commented with a smile and Denji felt embarrassed again.
"Was I talking too much? I-I'm sorry it's just I talk a bit more when I get nervous an-and I start to stutter a bit and I just get really nervous. When I'm nervous." Denji felt his eye twitching. Whether it really was or not was hard to tell but Denji could feel it.
"No, no." Tomoko reassured him with a smile. It was such a cute smile too. It lit her face up despite the black lipstick. "Just a compliment. I really enjoy your stories."
"Oh you do? That's good. That's really, uh" Denji took a quick breath before continuing "that's good. Thanks." He smiled, hoping he didn't look like an idiot. Oh how he hoped he didn't look like a complete idiot. Tomoko just looked at him with those blue eyes. Denji could swim in them all day. If he said that, however, he'd really seem like an idiot.
"Of course. Not many funny guys are as grounded as you." Tomoko complimented him. At least Denji thought it was a compliment. Was it? He glanced to Yukio, who was reading a book but Denji knew damn well he enjoyed reading and listening. Yukio glanced back and rolled his eyes with a grin. Okay she was complimenting him. Good.
"Well I like to be grounded. All about that ground. I mean I do use Earth jutsu." Denji chuckled a bit, hoping that if it did come off as a pun, Tomoko would laugh. She smiled and giggled a bit, making Denji more relaxed. A bit. His heart was hammering in his chest to the point that he thought it would burst from his chest in a visceral show. However it remained in his chest, it just rattled him with every beat. His face felt hot, he hoped he wasn't flushed.
"You know, Tomoko" Yukio began "it'd probably be best if you took a break from letting Denji talk. He gets overheated." He sneered and Denji frowned.
"Dude." He raised his hands and Yukio laughed as he read his book. Denji sighed, realising that Yukio's quip was calming him down, his heartbeat was slowing down and his face was feeling less hot.
Okay, I'm feeling a bit better now. Denji thought as he adjusted his pack. It held his heavy jacket which he refrained from donning before they got to the desert entrance. It was hot out though Tomoko was wearing a heavy jacket herself and she seemed fine. However she was quite thin and Denji was curious as to if she was cold constantly. Yukio talked about that some time ago though he'd since filled into his body a bit and complained far less about it.
"Your friends seem quite nice." Tomoko kept her smile nice and visible. Denji really loved that smile, it just made his heart flutter. He'd never really felt that with a girl. He looked at women and enjoyed it quite a bit but he'd never felt like this. This sort of hopeful romantic that Denji occasionally read about before putting the book down. It was strange and kind of embarrassing, especially since Tomoko likely wouldn't reciprocate his feelings. Likely, there was always a chance.
"They can be." Denji responded. "They can also be a bit…" he looked to Arine "gruff."
"Well I'm sure that they're generally nice." Tomoko pulled her ponytail apart, letting her hair fall down in full, making Denji swallow the lump in his throat.
"Oh yes, generally." He chuckled sheepishly, looking ahead. Before them was a path with trees on either side as far as he could see. Which, admittedly, wasn't the most expansive view. He just hoped he didn't run Tomoko off by the time they hit the desert.
Anri, on the other hand, was perplexed. This boy was so genuine in everything he did, not a trace of ulterior motives or secondary plans, or even primary plans. He kept talking, trying to entertain her while they walked so the trip wouldn't be so boring. But that wasn't even the most perplexing part. The part that concerned her the most was she genuinely laughed a couple times. It was odd, so incredibly odd. She never really cared about this boy or his stories or interests at the start but was finding the stories he told interesting. Genuinely interesting, not just for future plans. She found she was enjoying hearing how he told these stories in such a goofy, embarrassed manner. He seemed positively smitten and Anri, despite herself, found it a bit endearing. Maybe because she had never encountered someone like this before, someone so trusting and care free.
She was beside herself.
"So, uh, where are you from?" Denji asked with enough sincerity Anri almost answered without thinking. She opened her mouth before closing it.
"It's… difficult." She responded quietly, earning a caring look from Denji. Anri felt guarded now, not swayed by the look.
"Oh, I see." He looked away. "Sorry, just curious. I understand if you don't want to say anything." Denji gave her a sheepish smile and Anri looked from him to Yukio, who had one eye looking back. This one was cautious.
"Well, it's just…" Anri rubbed her arm in what seemed like a reflexive gesture. "My dad wasn't the best. He did all sorts of things to my mother for a few years." She looked down out of some genuine fear. Memories came back to her as she told a partial truth. "Then after my sister was born, he left and things were nice but…" Anri took a deep breath, remaining silent for a minute. A partial truth. "It was a while ago that some thieves broke in. My mother resisted and so did my sister. I ran away and stayed alive ever since." Anri bit her lip. She had to swallow the memories as they came back. Flashes of what happened were at the forefront of her mind, yet she pushed them back as hard as she could. There was no room for such things right now.
"Oh, wow." Denji responded, cracking his knuckles nervously. "I, uh, didn't know that it was that bad." He exhaled. "I mean I kinda know how you feel." He spoke aloud, earning a look from Anri.
"You do?" she asked genuinely. She bit her lip in response. She hadn't meant for it to come out but… for someone to say they knew even some of what she went through was such a shock she wanted to know more. However she had to restrain herself.
"Yeah. I mean my family…" Anri saw Denji's start to glisten. He kept unclenching and clenching his fingers as if he wanted to say more, but he couldn't. Anri suddenly reach out and grabbed his arm, holding it. It felt nice to have someone who knew something of what she went through. Denji was taken aback by her gesture, which she felt would benefit her a bit. If she seemed genuine then his friends would think she was genuine, less chance of being discovered. But also it just felt… it felt nice, something Anri never experience.
"Well, at least we're alive right?" Anri looked up to him and smiled. Denji smiled too, his face lighting up.
"Of course. That's what counts." He grinned and looked forward as his arm reached around and held Anri. She welcomed it. It was… refreshing. She glanced to Yukio' whose golden eye was trained on her. She found his eyes odd and was curious as to what happened. No normal person had snake eyes like that.
"Well group, now that we're done the dramatic backstory hour." Aika spoke from the front, earning a slight frown from Anri. This woman. She reminded Anri a lot of herself, she kept to herself a lot, was constantly aware, and constantly on guard. Anri concluded she was on the run from something or someone. But who, or what, that was, was a mystery. "Let's keep going. We're nearing the Desert so watch out for people in the trees. Bandits and rogue nin like to prey on innocent travellers around here, leave them stranded before the desert with nothing."
"Hardly think that's an issue." Arine commented, twirling her spear slowly in her hand. It was a curious weapon, Anri found. Nothing like any other spear she'd seen, the entire thing was of one red material that shone eerily blood red in the sunlight. Anri wondered what was up with that spear and why Arine had it.
"Just be on your guard." Aika retorted to her student, earning a smirk from Yukio.
"Yeah, Arine. Don't get cocky." He grinned at hi quip as the girl turned back, her blue gaze penetrating his thin form.
"Don't you talk." She spoke harshly, earning a chuckle.
"Just remember, it's good practice for the both of us." Yukio reminded her.
"Yeah, yeah." Arine waved at him dismissively while Anri saw what he meant. If one was dodging and one was attacking, it meant both were having to predict constantly. Interesting. Anri noted that down for later use.
"Just keep an eye out." Aika spoke at them.
"I haven't seen anything." Yukio responded, closing his book and slipping it into his jacket pocket. Anri looked around and saw only the thick foliage of the forest yet Yukio spoke as if he could see past all that and into the woods themselves. Anri thought she read something about snakes seeing temperatures. She doubted Yukio had actual snake eyes, though. It was impossible.
"Keep us informed." Aika spoke back, looking in front of her and to both sides. She kept her hood up as she walked, which Anri added to the sense that she was on the lam. "Last thing we need is-"Aika jerked her body back in the middle of speaking as is she got hit. However she wasn't hit, as a kunai knife sprouted from the ground behind her. The group stopped all at once as the significance of the knife hit them all. Aika turned to Yukio, her face angry. "I thought you said you didn't see anyone." She hissed. Yukio simply smiled.
"Now see" Yukio began as he reached into his jacket with both hands "I didn't want to alert anyone." He held three needles in his hands for a second as he looked around.
"You're putting everyone-" Aika began before Yukio three to his right and three to his left. Anri heard strangled noises before two deep thunks reached her ears. Aika looked to Yukio as he held a smug grin.
"Couldn't let them be alerted." He walked over to the groups left and dragged a slim man by the scruff of his neck into the street. His brown hair was ratty and he was frozen in an odd, shriveled position. He caught Anri's gaze and elaborated. "Paralysation needles." He pulled the needles from the man's neck with ease before shoving them in his jacket. Anri was amazed at his aim, it was impeccable. Yukio walked to the other side and pulled a larger man into the street, pulling the needles from his neck as well.
"Yukio, that was a huge risk." Aika berated him. Yukio raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? Because I saw them and their angles, I saw their forms and knew that they couldn't aim to save their lives. I mean you barely dodged the knife because it might've chipped your shoulder. No one else was in danger and I had a plan ready for these two…" Yukio looked between them "undesirables."
"Which was?" Aika aside, eyebrow raised.
"Stun them, and leave them because why would a couple of hick farm boys do against trained shinobi?" Yukio pointed the question more to the still men on the ground, whose eyes widened. They obviously expected helpless travellers, not shinobi. Anri found it interesting. This boy did more than predict combat moves, he planned out entire scenarios.
"I'd prefer it if you informed me of these things. Even subtly." Aika scolded him, to which Yukio sighed.
"Fine, but I was stretched for time here." He held a finger up. "Just saying."
"All right." Aika ended the conversation with that before turning. "Let's go before they unfreeze." She started forward as Arine waited until Yukio stepped forward and she grabbed him up in conversation.
"Huh." Denji commented to Anri's right. "She's talkative all of a sudden." He started forward and Anri kept pace.
"Is she quiet a lot?" Anri asked, hoping to gleam information.
"She's been irritable lately. Well the past long while, no idea why." Denji frowned, which made Anri raise an eyebrow. Something was up.
"You sure you have no idea why? I mean it has to be some reason." Anri prodded Denji but she could see him become a bit defensive, on guard. She's struck a bit of a nerve.
"I wouldn't know." He said with a grimace. Anri raised an eyebrow at him. He was clearly hiding something.
"Okay then." She said, letting it go for now. She could have to ask later but for now, just enjoy Denji's company. A small luxury in the face of what she was running from.
Denji, however, was hoping Tomoko let it go. His mind flashed briefly to the night Aika found them. He was sure it had something to do with that. In one of the books he read, someone had a traumatic experience that manifested in anger and depression. It was one of the few books Denji found engaging but it made him think. Not something he wanted to do, mostly about that.
"Yeah. It's probably just nothing." He grinned, hoping it hid the fact he had his suspicions. Last thing he needed was Tomoko talking to Arine about it and then Arine getting on his case over this whole thing.
"Well okay then." Tomoko stayed close to him, which Denji was really liking. He hoped that when he put his arm around her she wasn't offended. Then again if she was she would've pulled away. Or would she have? Denji is a big guy but she also wasn't pulling away now. So she must enjoy it.
"Yeah, I just hope she gets better. She hits hard." Denji rubbed his right shoulder, which Arine favoured hitting on more than a few occasions especially after his workouts.
"Oh I'm sure she will." Denji sighed, letting Tomoko's closeness comfort him.
"Are we there-"
"If you don't shut your damned mouth I will personally cut out your tongue and feed it to you." Aika cut off Denji, who was snickering beside Tomoko.
"You know, Aika" Yukio started "I thought you said we were close to the desert." He looked to her, eyebrow raised in sarcastic curiosity. "We've been at this for hours, you sure we're near it?"
"We are." Aika spoke through gritted teeth.
"You sure we shouldn't make camp for the night?" the white haired boy asked. "It's late, last thing we need is to fend off irritants in the middle of the night." Denji looked up and noticed the sky was getting quite dark and they hadn't seen so much as a grain of sand.
"We're near the desert!" Aika exclaimed despite evidence to the contrary. "At least I could swear…"
"How long has it been since you visited the Hidden Sand Village?" Arine questioned, leaving Aika to look embarrassed.
"Okay it's been a while, but I remember distinctly-"
"Ten, twenty years?" Yukio asked, his grin now gone in place of mild irritation. "Regardless, we're not there, it's late, let's make some camp. Better than walking ourselves to death in the middle of dark woods."
"Fine." Aika sighed in frustration as she stopped. "Yukio, see if there's a clearing somewhere nearby."
"Already done." The boy sighed. He pointed to his right. "It's just this way. It'll be small but it should fit our temporary needs."
"Will it have enough space?" Denji asked. "I mean, the five of us."
"Oh it should." Yukio grinned. "If a couple of us share a sleeping bag." His gazed passed over Denji before moving to Arine, who was watching him carefully. She seemed to be gauging what she was going to do: either impale him on her pike or simply slice him up.
"Yukio." Aika spoke with warning in her voice. Yukio kept his grin as he looked at their teacher. They had a stare off, frustrated anger vs. mischief. Aika's frown and Yukio's cheeky grin were waging a silent battle for a silent minute as insects chirped loudly in the forest. Denji was already aware Yukio was doing this because he was bored. He could be reading a book but Yukio enjoyed being snarky at times. However Yukio also had the will to keep at it for a while. Denji was able to take it since he was annoying at times, Arine usually reigned him in. however, after a tense, silent minute, Yukio closed his eyes and sighed.
"It has enough room." he relented, opening his eyes and stepping aside.
"Good." Aika walked past him, frustrated more than ever. Arine followed, pointing at him before she passed, meaning she wanted words. Yukio looked to Denji and Tomoko and nodded his head in the direction of the clearing.
"You guys heading in or what?" he asked, his grin still on his face. Denji started forward and as he passed Yukio, he felt his friend's hand on his arm along with a whisper. "You and me after everyone's asleep." He patted Denji's arm as he nodded Tomoko forward. She seemed to go along with it reluctantly but Denji stayed close as Yukio filed in last. He was curious as to what he wanted but Denji would have to wait. Or not wait long at all, depended really. He walked into the clearing where Aika had a small fire going with herself and Arine seated around it. Denji sat across from Aika with Tomoko at his side while Yukio took the spot between Aika and Denji.
"Looks like you're done being smug." Arine commented, her spear leaning against her shoulder.
"I was never smug." Yukio defended himself. "Just-"
"Enough." Was Aika's tired reply. "Yukio, I swear you're too damn smart for your own good. You've let that IQ test go to your head."
"Actually I never did." Yukio replied. "Never cared for the result."
"You got a 195." Arine responded a bit harshly. "Anyone else would've taken full advantage of that." Denji saw Tomoko's eyes widen at that.
"I'm not a proud person." Yukio responded cooly.
"He's not, really." Denji added. "I mean he never brags."
"Enough about Yukio." Aika intervened. "Let's just get some sleep before long."
"I'm not quite tired." Arine spoke to the group with a passing glance at Yukio.
"I'm not, not yet anyway." Denji added.
"I can stay up a bit." Yukio grinned and leaned back into his hands.
"My day hasn't been excruciating." Tomoko added, to which Aika sighed. She simple waved at the group and moved back, laying with her back to the fire and the group. The four of them looked to each other in the following moments, as if wondering what people were going to do.
"So, Tomoko." Arine broke the silence as her fingers drummed on her spear shaft. "Where are you from again?"
"Oh, I-" she started but Arine interrupted her.
"Because you never gave a location, really. Just some of what happened there." Arine's sapphire eyes glinted in the firelight as she pressed on. "So where are you from?"
"A small village in the Land of Fire, nearer the border of the Land of Lightning." Tomoko responded. "I don't remember the name, or much else, just that we were warned a lot about watching for spies from the Hidden Cloud." She fiddled with the end of her jacket. "The village leader kind of hammered it in, you know?"
"I forget, are the villages in the countries ruled over by the Kage or…" Denji bit his lip, trying to remember. History was never his strong suit.
"The Daimyo." Arine responded. "I think."
"The Daimyo are leaders of the countries, the Kage ruled over their villages because they've been put there for one reason or another, they're generally the strongest in the village though. Individual villages ruled over themselves thought he Daimyo has the final say." Yukio recited from memory, earning a look from the three others. Denji wondered how Yukio could memorize that stuff. Yukio looked at them, eyebrows raised. "What? I figured the info could be useful. You never know."
"Didn't Aika say we don't delve into politics?" Arine asked. "I mean we don't get involved for a reason, it's not our concern."
"Yeah, but you never know." Yukio raised a hand. "I mean, consider the following: say we need an educational moment. I know the info. Say we need to know about the area, boom." Yukio made a little explosion gesture with his hands, splaying his fingers out.
"Whatever." Arine waved him off before looking back to Tomoko. "So what do you like?"
"Um, I enjoy travelling, though it might have been an acquired taste." She gave a small laugh before continuing. "It's nice, seeing different locations and such. The people you meet can be fantastic and the various foods and things add to that." Tomoko smiled, which lit her face up in Denji's eyes. "It's a nice, ever changing experience."
"I'd be a terrible nomad." Yukio commented. "I hate change. Something stagnant, a common centre, a routine, those things are nice. I mean travelling and seeing new things is also quite nice but I like a constant. A rock, if you will." He shrugged. "I dunno, that's just me."
"I can take or leave it, really." Arine answered. "I like travelling, staying in one place is nice too. I don't care, really."
"I dunno. I gotta agree with Yukio." Denji shrugged. "I prefer a place where I can return to where nothing has changed and everything is nice."
"And people wonder why we're friends." Yukio held a hand out and Denji bumped wrists. Arine made a scoff/chuckle sound at that.
"I swear, you two should get a room." Arine sneered and Yukio glared at her mischievously.
"Now don't scare the girl off, I'm sure she's probably smitten with Denji." Both of them looked to Denji and Tomoko. Denji felt his face heat up more than the fire and Tomoko looked to him, but didn't scooch away.
"Dude." Denji frowned at his friend, but Yukio simply grinned.
"We make those jokes a bunch." Yukio reasoned.
"No we don't." Denji's frowned intensified and Yukio chuckled.
"Okay, okay, calm down." He held a hand out to Denji as he tried not to laugh. "Just a joke dude, don't take it so seriously." Though Denji felt like it was serious. He was with a girl and if he embarrassed her off…
"Hey Yukio." Arine got his attention and jerked her head back towards the woods, indicating they wanted to talk.
"Yeah, sure." Yukio and Arine stood and Yukio made his way around the fire to join Arine as they walked into the woods just a bit to be out of ear shot. Denji let out a long, deep sigh of irritation.
"What's wrong?" Tomoko asked.
"Nothing, it's just…" Denji cracked his left knuckles. "It's just Yukio sometimes has really bad timing on things. Like, really bad."
"Well what's so bad about some jokes?" she asked. Denji looked to her as she smiled, trying to remain upbeat. "I mean they're just harmless and we don't have to worry ourselves with them."
"I guess." Denji let out a deep breath before smiling a bit and turning to her. "Thanks, I needed that." Tomoko smiled, her smile more genuine.
"No problem." She looked so pretty in the fire light, the fire reflecting off of her eyes like a light on a gemstone. It was absolutely stunning. Denji couldn't pin it down, but this girl was just perfect. Nothing about her seemed wrong at all, nothing. She
"You know, Tomoko" he started before he glanced down, realising he was leaning into her, his hand nearing hers as they both were placed on the ground. Denji pulled back suddenly, hoping he didn't embarrass or creep her out.
"What is it?" she asked, frowning slightly. Denji felt his face really heat up from the short exchange and he felt embarrassed beyond belief. Yet at the same time he wondered if maybe he should've gone for it… no, he shouldn't have. She was just travelling with them for now.
"N-nothing!" he exclaimed. Nothing. Nothing at all but crippling thoughts of Tomoko leaving or finding him embarrassing or, even worse, if she was lying to just play a cruel prank on him. Of Kami, why wasn't he paying attention? He felt like slamming his face into a rock, he felt so dense! Denji clenched his fists and kept his arms as still as he could so he didn't wind up hitting himself.
"You know, Denji, can I tell you something?" Tomoko suddenly asked, drawing his gaze from the fire. Several thoughts ran through Denji's head. Was she gonna say she was leaving? Was she going to talk about a previous boyfriend? Her current one? Did she even have a current one? Was she gonna talk about how that felt uncomfortable? What was she going to say? What could she say after that?
"Uuuuuuhm, yeah. Sure." Was Denji's only answer to that. Tomoko looked into the fire, staring into it for a minute before she began speaking.
"There was this one time I was walking through the Hidden Rain Village, where it's quite technological and, obviously, very rainy." She smirked. "I didn't stay long since it was actually kind of creepy. Everything was grey and this odd rusty, burgundy colour. Anyway I had to stop in a shop and get something to eat and while I was eating I saw what I guess was a first date of this couple and the guy, he was quite thin, and the girl, she had a crooked nose if I remember right, and the guy and girl were both so horribly awkward at this date I took it upon me to do something to help them along. At one point the guy and the girl were somewhat separate from each other and they were standing, so I passed by the girl and 'accidentally'" Tomoko used air quotes. "Tripped and bumped into the girl, pushing her into the boy. I looked back and yeah they had a moment of embarrassment but they began talking more. I saw them conversing and they seemed to be enjoying themselves quite a bit and I took a bit of satisfaction in knowing that I put two people who wanted to be together, together." Tomoko had a kind smile on her face but her eyes seemed to have some sense of haunting to them, as if she had some regret over the whole thing.
"That's a nice story." Denji commented, feeling his own embarrassment and scared thoughts receding from his head. The story had calmed him down quite a bit thought his heart was still pumping quite a bit in his chest, but that was just his proximity to Tomoko. Otherwise his embarrassment from earlier was dissipating. "I mean do you know what happened to them?" he asked, curious.
"No clue. They could be dead for all I know, if I'm being honest." Tomoko gave a small, humourless laugh. "I do hope they wound up being happy together, if I'm being honest. It'd mean something went right." Her smile began turning sideways as Denji noticed. He decided that maybe it was his turn.
"I once thought I found a nice girl." Denji said, the memory coming to the forefront of his mind. "It was about a year ago and we were going after this leader of a gang. No one know what they looked like or what their real name was, just a pseudonym. The White Lotus." Denji took a deep breath before continuing. "Anyway it was in some village in the Land of Fire here and it wasn't this huge, huge gang. Just a nuisance. Anyway I wound up meeting this girl outside a shop while we asked around and she was really nice to me. We talked about minor things, weather, etc. Then, after a bit, I decided to be really smart and ask her if she'd seen or knew anything about the White Lotus. She suddenly began acting awkward about it and then Arine got on my case about it, coming up and berating me. She does that a lot, if you can't tell." Denji leaned in and chuckled, earning a small giggle from Tomoko. "But what wound up happening was Arine got mad when I talked back at her about being with this girl and then Arine pulled me away out of rage and wound up pulling me away from the girl's sword." Denji rolled his eyes. "Turns out, she was the White Lotus and Arine inadvertently saved me from getting impaled while being angry at me. If she hadn't, I wouldn't be here right now." Denji grinned at the memory. "One short battle later we had her in binds, trudged her off to the bounty station, and went on our day. In fact Arine kept at me, berating me over and over and saying she was gonna kill me for being so stupid until Yukio made a joke and took the attention from me. Needless to say the whole thing was a bit ironic." Denji smirked to himself.
"You and Yukio are pretty close friends, aren't you?" Tomoko asked him suddenly.
"We're all close friends, the three of us. Arine's just really angry recently so she comes off as standoffish to others. She can be nice and mellow but her spikes in anger recently haven't been all that great. But don't discount everything about her, she's a good person." Denji looked into the fire. "I just don't know what's up with her."
"Yeah." Tomoko responded before she let out a yawn into her hand just as the bushed rustled, letting Yukio and Arine back into the tiny clearing. Arine walked over to her spot in front of the fire and lay down before it, saying something about being tired and needing sleep before she began breathing heavily. Tomoko yawned again into her hand.
"I guess you need some sleep too." Denji smiled at her and she smiled back which made his heart start pumping faster in his chest.
"Yeah I'm gonna do that now." She lay down on the ground, facing the fire, closing her eyes before she, too, began breathing heavily as she drifted into slumber. Denji waited while Yukio stood by the treeline, leaning against a tree, waiting for Denji. The boy in question would rather have just sat beside a sleeping Tomoko but that was out of the question. Yukio wanted to talk and Yukio generally had something good to say. Denji stood and walked over to Yukio, who led him just a few feet into the woods where Yukio leaned against a tree, crossing his arms. He looked tired, his earlier joking demeanour gone. Or at least it seemed like that to Denji.
"So what is it?" Denji asked, raising an eyebrow. "Is it about Arine or Tomoko?" he asked his friend right off the bat, his tone semi-defensive, knowing it was one or the other.
"Depends." Yukio replied with a sigh as he rubbed his eyes. "Which one will make you less angry?" Yukio looked back up at him, his eyes dulled in the darkness.
"Depends on what you're asking." Denji responded, crossing his own arms, shifting his stance. He looked to Yukio, his earlier talk with Tomoko coming to mind. Yukio was his friend, but friends had disagreements. Quite a bit. Yukio sighed heavily.
"Honestly, I'm worried about Arine. Big time." The white haired boy reached a hand up, gripping his chin as he let out another sigh through his nose. "Her anger isn't right."
"What do you mean, she's always angry." Denji reasoned, but Yukio shook his head slowly.
"No, no not that. She used to be happier, less angry about things. Remember when we went after Kohta? When we went shopping? She was happy, she was nice. She got her spear and she was happy." Yukio was looking a bit distressed now as his mind seemed to sift through events. "Now she's constantly angry, she's hardly ever mellow now, she's tense, high strung." Yukio re-crossed his arms and bit his lip.
"Well, you know, maybe we could talk to her about it? Ask her?" Denji wondered but Yukio shook his head.
"I think I know the seed of the anger." Yukio revealed.
"What is it then? I've had a couple theories." Denji shrugged his shoulders as Yukio raised an eyebrow.
"Really? Now that's something." He smiled a bit, which relieved Denji. Yukio wasn't becoming depressed. "But I think it stems from that night. When Aika saved us."
"I thought the same." Denji revealed, earning a nod from his friend.
"Good. Issue is I don't know how to deal with it." Yukio swallowed something in his throat before continuing. "This topic is so sensitive and… new for me. It's like walking into a field of explosives with trip wires while blind, there's no way to do it right that' obvious and after thinking, it's the most roundabout, out of the way thing." Yukio stopped himself. "Sometimes. It can be the simplest thing to help them on their way but…"
"What are you worried about specifically?" Denji asked, which earned a look from Yukio as his eyes went straight to the ground.
"I'm afraid. I'm afraid she's going to get angry and do something stupid out of rage and get hurt or killed or worse." Yukio began looking stressed. He pushed himself from the tree and began pacing a few steps back and forth. Denji had seen this before, Yukio paced when he really got stressed. "Last thing I need to worry about is her getting some kind of injury, it's not good to think about." Yukio was almost speaking to himself now.
"Yukio." Denji said, but his friend kept pacing, almost oblivious.
"She'd do it too, just to spite me or someone else because she'd be angry, she runs so much on her emotions she can be hard to predict and easy to predict at the same time. I don't know if I'd ever be able to live with myself if something happened. She needs help but I don't know what to do and if I can't help her then I can't protect her, especially from herself."
"Yukio!" Denji said, more urgently, but his friend continued to ignore him.
"I swear if something happens…"
"Yukio!" Denji finally moved, grabbing his friend by the shoulders and stopping him forcefully, forcing the boy to look at him. "Looks, you gotta stop this, man. It's an endless spiral you drop into and I hate it. You gotta stop! Okay? You pacing and muttering isn't gonna help her! Just clam down and we can deal with this, talk to Aika about it, I dunno." Denji sighed. "Look let's just take this one step at a time. Okay?" Denji was panting and Yukio looked like he was about to get hit. But his eyes looked like they had cleared, showing he had gotten the message. "Yukio, you in there?" Denji asked, fully ready to shake his friend into answering if he had to.
"Yeah." Yukio breathed, stepping back from Denji. "Yeah, I get it. I understand." He suddenly dropped into a crouch, holding his knees as he looked to the ground. Denji stepped back, giving Yukio room. Denji wondered it maybe Yukio might suffer from panic attacks. Did he? He certainly looked like it though Denji didn't know much about them, just that the name seemed self-explanatory.
"You need to be alone?" Denji asked but Yukio shook his head.
"No." his friend said to the ground. "No just stay. I need something to focus on." Yukio took a deep breath, then another, then another, continuing for several minutes while Denji waited silently. He watched Yukio calm himself down slowly before the boy raised his head, his eyes bloodshot though he had a small grin on his face.
"You feeling better now?" Denji asked, reaching a hand out. Yukio took it quickly, hauling himself up.
"Yeah." Yukio smirked at himself. "Yeah. I'm beginning to wonder if I get panic attacks."
"Funny, I was thinking that myself but I don't know." Denji shrugged.
"I don't think so, panic attacks are, like, crippling. Like they have to be shut away and really comforted." Yukio spoke, possibly referring to a medicinal book he read, Denji didn't know. Yukio read so much it was impossible to keep track. "I think, I could be wrong. Been a while since I read about it and I didn't get very far. I got bored and switched to something else I think." Yukio chuckled a bit before he rubbed his eyes. "I'm tired. We need some sleep, don't you think?" he looked to Denji, a smile on his face. Denji grinned back
"Yeah, I definitely think that'll be useful." Denji gave Yukio a pat on the back as they started back but Denji stopped him before they went too far. "Look, was it just Arine you wanted to talk about?" he asked, legitimately curious as to Yukio's motives. Yukio was quiet for a second before answering.
"Yeah, just her. I needed to vent, I guess. A chance to get it all aired out, you know?" he shrugged. "For what it's worth, Tomoko? She's a nice girl." Yukio smiled at him warmly. "If she winds up joining up and if it makes you happy, I won't have any objections."
"You sure?" Denji asked, almost not believing him.
"Yeah. It looks like you two enjoy each other's company and I'm glad you're having fun. If she leaves then that'll suck but if she winds up staying I think it'll be good, especially for you."
"For me?" Denji asked.
"Yeah, you kind of got in a rut recently. You looked like you needed someone new and with past events, this seems like a good one." Yukio turned as he walked back. "Just keep that in mind."
"Keep that in mind." Denji whispered to himself as Yukio went to the fire. He walked back as Yukio was making himself comfortable, laying down close to his friend as he let the fire warm him. He lay there, staring up at the stars for quite a bit, thinking about what Yukio had said before his eyes closed and he fell asleep.
Yukio leaned against a tree as Arine glared at him. He simply responded with a raised eyebrow as he crossed his arms.
"So are we going to talk about the obvious thing or are you going to stare at me all night?" Yukio asked after he'd had enough of the silence. "Because I can do either, I don't care."
"You do care, don't lie to me." Arine responded as she held her spear at her side so she could lean against it. "You're worried about Denji's new companion, aren't you?" she smirked. "For someone who's trying to predict moods, you're easy to predict yourself."
"Meh." Yukio shrugged in indifference. He didn't care. "I like to make sure my friends are safe." He set his mouth in a firm line. "But I can already tell that something's off about Tomoko."
"Do tell." Arine prompted, leaning more.
"The way she talks about herself is so odd it almost seems planned out. Or made up on the spot." Yukio kept himself as still as he could, lest he begin pacing. "I get the feeling she's acting but I can't quite tell if she really is."
"So you're unsure, that's new." Arine rolled her eyes and Yukio frowned at her.
"Look, I'm still working on predicting someone and profiling them so it's imperfect right now." He glanced around the area, searching for any eaves droppers and saw nothing. "But something about her is putting me off."
"You checking her vitals?" Arine raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
"A couple flare ups during the stuff when she talked about her dad. But that honestly leads to inconclusive results since if it was traumatising, she'd have irregular heartbeats and temperatures, naturally. However it can go both ways, which is why a lot of sociopaths have tragic backstories, or so they say." Yukio took a slow breath as Arine responded.
"Sociopaths? Crazy people?" she frowned as Yukio rolled his eyes.
"No, they're not crazy people. Generally. Sociopaths are generally emotionless and uncaring, which is why many enter into the assassin career."
"Fitting." Arine commented.
"Some just live their lives without a care because they simply can't, others try to find something to get them to care, it kind of varies from what I've read. They can apparently act, however. Quite well. In fact they're adept at infiltrating because they're good at acting."
"How can you act normal if you aren't normal?" Arine questioned him.
"Well then that goes into what does one call normal, doesn't it?" Yukio raised an eyebrow with a light grin. "However that's an entirely different discussion. They see the emotions and can basically give a rough job of portraying it without feeling it, at first at least. One can become more adept. They can act mad without being mad, several can shed tears on a whim, it's all in one's own skill.
"So you're saying our new travel buddy's a sociopath?" Arine asked, getting to the point.
"With how she talks about her life and such, it leads me to that conclusion, however it's entirely possible she's normal and I'm overthinking it. I'm at a crossroads and either road could be right."
"So you don't want to eliminate her?"
"I wouldn't anyway as long as she doesn't act against us. If she stays in line, even using us, then that's fine as long as none of you are hurt." Yukio clenched his fists before unclenching them. That thought was not one he wanted in his head. "In all honesty, she's likely a normal girl with slightly abnormal issues." He stated with finality. "The way she talks and acts is what's throwing me off but people do that sometimes. I've seen stuff that hasn't made any sense."
"Like that guy who started cheating then killed his girlfriend when she found out?" Arine asked with a smirk. Yukio frowned, wanting to avoid that topic.
"Yes." He answered curtly. "To be safe, I propose we keep an eye on her while she's travelling with us just in case something happens. If nothing does then regardless of whether or not she's a sociopath or psychopath or something else, she's out of our hair." Yukio ran a hand through his hair as he finished, making Arine grin.
"Nice analogy there." She commented.
"What?" Yukio wondered, earning an eye roll.
"Nothing. I just swear you're quite dense sometimes." Arine had a playful smile on her lips, something Yukio hadn't seen in a while. It worried him, he really hoped that Arine was okay. She was a lot angrier lately and Yukio was worried that it would culminate in something violent. The last thing he wanted to do was pin Arine down so that she didn't kill himself or Denji.
"Well I think about a lot of stuff so sometimes things slip past me." He shrugged indifferently. "What of it?" he asked, earning a grin.
"Nothing." Arine shook her head. "But listen, if Tomoko turns out to be what you think she might be-"
"As long as she doesn't go after us, we don't interfere." Yukio interrupted her firmly. "Remember what Aika says, we don't attack unless attacked first."
"Oh please, that goes beyond what Aika has said." Arine retorted.
"How so?" Yukio asked, his fists clenched.
"You just get so over protective. I mean I swear you're going to seal us in bubbles one of these days, the way you talk."
"Oh, I'm sorry for watching out for the group." Yukio stood upright, his tone threatening.
"You hate taking chances because you don't want to run the risk." Arine countered.
"Better safe than sorry." Yukio glared at her. "I'd rather we come out of a situation unharmed instead of taking a risk that isn't necessary."
"But what if it is necessary?"
"Then we take it." Yukio was beginning to fume. Arine was just giving him obvious situations that had obvious answers and it was one thing that infuriated him.
"But what if it's the better option of a few?" she asked.
"That depends."
"Everything depends, doesn't it Yukio?" Arine stood straight and took a step forward. "Everything's unpredictable, says the guy trying to learn how to predict."
"I can't see the future, Arine." Yukio stepped forward, his fists clenched. "I can only make a guess and I'm not secure in my guesses yet as I don't know about how to predict behaviour! You want me to figure out how a guy fights? I can have that handed to you written in calligraphy in about an hour. You want me to predict if this girl will murder us in our sleep? I can't tell! There's every chance she could and every chance she won't."
"Then don't deal with things if you can't make a precise guess!" Arine scolded him. "You give the most vague, imprecise answers I've ever seen! She could or she couldn't, just pick a side!"
"I'll pick a side when I have the info!" Yukio retorted.
"Then don't predict until you have that info!" Arine growled through gritted teeth. Both stood there, breathing heavily. Arine took a step back and pulled her spear up, holding it at her side. "Listen Yukio, you have to learn to make a decision otherwise it's not only going to bite you in the ass, but all of us. Pick a side and stick with it, right or wrong." And she walked off, leaving Yukio to follow her as he fumed a bit. Yeah, he was going to have to talk with Denji about it.
"For what it's worth, Tomoko? She's a nice girl." Yukio smiled, trying to seem genuine. He needed to or else Denji would get suspicious. "If she winds up joining up and if it makes you happy, I won't have any objections." If she turned out to be a decent person.
"You sure?" Denji asked him. He sounded almost excited.
"Yeah. It looks like you two enjoy each other's company and I'm glad you're having fun. If she leaves then that'll suck but if she winds up staying I think it'll be good, especially for you." Yukio wasn't lying about that, he did want to see Denji happy and if it meant this girl, then so be it.
"For me?" Denji asked, as if he were a bit taken aback by Yukio's sudden on-board-ness with Tomoko. Then again he tried to socialise with her a bit whilst they walked so it probably didn't seem sudden to Denji, though Yukio was really trying to get a read on her.
"Yeah, you kind of got in a rut recently. You looked like you needed someone new and with past events, this seems like a good one. Just keep that in mind." Yukio finished as he walked back to the fire just a few feet away. He had to let Denji think he was okay with Tomoko until Yukio found out more about her. Better to keep his friend in the dark about his personal feelings on the matter.
Yukio lay down with his back to the fire as he closed his eyes, feigning sleep. He listened as Denji lay down near him and began to snore quietly. He always had that problem but Yukio had adjusted to it over the years. He rolled over onto his back and he looked up at the sky, the stars and their seemingly infinite numbers. He thought about what Arine said, about being over protective. He wasn't being over protective, he was just watching over them. He had to. He wouldn't be able to bear it if anything happened to them.
Arine was just being her usual angry self, Yukio concluded. She was just lashing out for her reasons, whatever they may be, it was just raw anger. Nothing to it, no meaning behind it.
But what if there was something more to it that he was missing? No. Yukio concluded that Arine was just lashing out and that's what she was doing. Nothing more and nothing less. If anything her anger lately made her easier to predict in terms of what she was doing and going to do. Though it was entirely possible that he was under thinking the whole thing. Arine said he was dense at times, but when was he dense? Yukio frowned up at the sky as he waited for it to deliver an answer to him, but the answer was not forthcoming.
"She's just angry." Yukio muttered to himself as he turned his back to the fire once more, closing his eyes and falling asleep, still bitter about what she said.
Anri was beginning to wonder if she was getting in too deep, which worried her. She should know that by this point. When Denji was leaning towards her, she had the oddest temptation to lean in herself though she realised it far, far sooner than Denji had, which resulted in some embarrassment for the both of them. Then she told that story which, like everything else held some grain of truth. She did bump into the girl, but in the Hidden Sand and it was entirely accidental. However what Anri withheld was that the boy in question was part of a small gang and he and his troop later tried to ambush Anri that night. While he wasn't the leader, Anri did kill them all easily. She never bothered to follow up on the girl.
She was beginning to wonder why she was even telling stories of partial truth with slightly altered events. To garner sympathy? She could do that with a fake story without any ounce of truth and she could speak it with enough conviction to sway even the most hardened of thugs. The more time she spent with Denji, however, she found herself wanting to tell him more about herself. That, for the first time in a long time, worried her. She never got worried, she was generally able to plan around something or she accepted a defeat, such as when she was captured back in the Hidden Sand.
Some would say becoming a criminal in your home is a sad occurrence but what Anri did was more an experiment. She wanted to see how far she could get before she felt something and it failed. She felt nothing as she killed, including the boy and that gang. It was incredibly off putting. She felt nothing when murdering people, but this boy was bringing something out of her that she had never felt in a long, long time. It was worrying to say the least.
For now, at least, she would travel with them to the Hidden Sand. Should they show any signs, she will be rid of them. She had steeled herself on that the minute she joined up and yet… the thought of going after Denji made her stomach lurch a bit. However at the same time she felt that she shouldn't feel like this. The feelings within her were so conflicting, she almost felt like vomiting. She swallowed to keep her stomach in check, though she could feel the rumblings within her. Something was wrong. Very wrong.
She might have to be rid of them sooner than she had hoped.
Aika woke up later in the night to the sounds of everyone sleeping soundly, which she was glad to hear. Last thing they needed was an ambush in the middle of the night. However everyone was trained to sleep lightly, save Tomoko. Aika was still iffy on her. Yes it was a result of her own hubris in regards to Denji, but the more time the girl spent with them the more Aika found her off putting. The story she told about her father reminded Aika of a bounty that passed through a while ago that she didn't bother with as the reward wasn't much. A man who'd left his family but had come back and killed them all. Of course Tomoko likely wasn't a part of that but it intrigued Aika nonetheless.
However, Aika had something that made her cautious. From her pocket, she pulled a piece of paper that was folded a few times. She quietly unfolded it and looked at what she had taken from the small bounty station back in the last village they stayed in. The picture was of a girl with an emotionless face with long hair and bored looking eyes. Below was a name and description.
Anri Nomura, wanted in the Village Hidden in the Sand for massive murder. Aged fourteen, green hair and eyes, possesses acidic jutsu unique to her and her alone. Adept at transformation and alteration jutsu. WARNING: Sociopathic, able to blend into groups and act as if she has emotions. APPROACH WITH CAUTION! Wanted personally by the Kazekage, Lord Gaara, alive. Reward: 1,000,000 Ryo.
Yes, this made Aika curious about their recent addition.
A/N: Lot of dialogue, but that's a good thing sometimes. Can't have action constantly.