AM: I sincerely apologize to everybody for taking an extended break, however I completely shattered the screen for my computer and have just gotten a new computer, so updates should come more frequently. At least I hope so. As for a simple job gone wrong, I am currently replanning what I will do for the next chapter since I was unable to write for a while. This story has been a work in progress for years and I finally decided to put my fingers to the keyboard to bring it to you. The entire basis of this story is that if you look at history as a tapestry, what all could change by adding a single thread, a thread that alters it all. With one character I feel everything could have changed if they simply had the ability to do so, and here is one. I hope you all enjoy this as something to read as much as I have to write, fantasize, dream, and pour my soul into.
Note: I own nothing but my own creations like my mc, not naruto or many references i may or may not make.
The Return of the Paladin
an older man wearing tattered tan clothing and a tan cloak walker slowly but steadily towards a large rock ridge surrounded by miles of sand. Despite walking through the middle of a literal desert, the man didn't show even a hint that the heat bothered him, or that he was aware that he was being watched. As he came closer to the rock, it became apparent that he had a relatively short beard with a hint of black hair around the edges that slowly faded to gray towards the center with only a finger width of pure white hair in the center.
The man stopped suddenly, turning his head to look at his watcher, though the top half of his face were cloaked in shadows from his tattered tan cloak.
"I'm here on request of the Yondaime kazekage, he has requested that I bring water to the village as the summer drought is more intense than average," the man said as his watcher, a man in tactical sand camouflage with a lizard faced mask, stepped out of the shadows.
"I need to get your name, then after a few minutes to inquire into the request, you'll be allowed to enter the village hidden in the sand," the lizard masked man said.
"ah, how impolite of me. You may call me Yang Toshiro," the old man said as he simply turned his head marginally to the side to face the second man who was watching.
The second man with the mask of a desert bird disappeared in a swirl of sand, leaving the lizard masked man and the cloaked man alone. The cloaked man didn't so much as budge a muscle with the exception of his head slowly turning back to the man in the lizard mask.
'I don't know who this old man thinks he is, but an anbu isn't the kind of person you want to offend or get on the bad side of,' the lizard masked man thought before he felt a sudden chill run down his back as the old man walked towards him slowly but steadily.
"could I borrow your water flask for a moment?" the old man asked as his hand slowly lifted up to accept said flask without waiting.
"I can give you a sip, but for anything more, you'll have to go into the city. I'm not trying to be harsh sir, but I don't get a chance to refill my flask until shift change." the lizard masked man said as he placed his water flask in the old man's outstretched hand.
"Thank you," the old man said before he drained the flask dry.
'I guess today's gonna be a long hot day,' the lizard masked man thought as the old man put his hand over the flask mouth, water gushing over his palm and filling the flask.
The old man handed the not full flask back to the man with the lizard mask as the one with a bird mask returned drenched in sweat.
"Toshiro-sama, lord yondaime eagerly awaits your arrival at the kazekage tower, would you like me to shushin you there?" the bird masked man asked with a nervous tremble in his voice.
"That won't be necessary, I've walked this far on my feet, and I'm sure they can take me just a little farther," the old man said before slowly ambling his way past them.
The two masked men watched the old man walk away out of ear shot before the lizard man turned to his friend and whispered, "So who is this guy?"
"I don't know all the details, but that old guy can turn his chakra into a near limitless supply of water. Yondaime-sama has made a contract with him, the village's water supply will be fully replenished in exchange for a set amount of goods such as jerky and traveling biscuits," the bird masked anbu replied to his friend quietly.
~Yondaime kazekage~
The Yondaime kazekage sat behind a wooden desk, tapping his fingers against the top impatiently. His eyes roamed irritably around the room, taking in the gilded edges of all the furniture and photos in the room. With a sigh his eyes shot over to the clock, which revealed that he had been waiting over a half hour for an old man to travel a simple ten minute casual stroll. After a few more moments he heard a knock on the door to his office before his secretary poked her head in.
"Excuse me yondaime-sama, there is an old man by the name of yang toshiro here to see you." his secretary announced.
"Thank you, please let him in," the Yondaime said.
The secretary ducked back out of the room, and a moment later an older man in a tattered tan cloak stepped into the room. as the old man walked in, he munched on a skewer of something as he simply flopped down on the chair opposite him. After swallowing, the old man offered another skewer, as if it were an afterthought.
"What is that?" the kazekage asked as he forcibly stopped his eye from twitching.
"It's a skewer of honeyed scorpions. figured you'd know what they are since this is a common desert treat after all." the old man said with a shrug.
"So you kept me waiting just so you could get a snack?" the kazekage asked as his eye twitched.
"You're the head of the village who begged me to swing by and refill the water reservoir of the village due to this drought, therefore I'm the one who holds the upper hand in these negotiations. On a side note, I've been eating nothing but traveling rations of jerky and hard biscuits for well over a year now. Have you ever had the same thing for three meals a day for a whole year? it's not fun, after a month or two just the smell of jerky can make you want to puke." The old man said with a frown before deliberately savoring a slow crunchy bite from the skewer he had offered.
"... Well, at least you're here now." the kazekage said with a defeated sigh.
"Yeah, i"m here now. I'll fill your water tank and take my pay and be off. On the topic of my pay, I'm adding two casks of at least mid grade sake to the bill. the smell on the streets got me craving something other than what i usually drink." the old man said as he casually tossed an empty skewer in the corner of the room.
"But the deal was, you know what? fine, i'll toss a few casks of sake your way, however, if you simply stayed here in suna to live, then you could eat whatever you wanted and you'd be able to drink whatever liquor caught your interest." the kazekage said as his facemask hid his small grin.
'If I can get him to stay here, we'll never have to worry about water again. if we can get him to leave behind an heir or two who could gain his special ability, water would never again be an issue for our people.' the kazekage thought.
"So you'd have me stay here for the rest of my days, keeping that little tank of water full til the day i died, but the real question is what would be in it for me." the old man said as he cast a cold firm gaze directly into the eyes of the strongest man in the village.
"you'd want for nothing at all. your service would allow you to have whatever you wanted, and however much you wanted, all completely free. Let's not kid ourselves now, you're getting up there in age. roaming the desert alone is a young man's game. think of all the comfort you could have if you simply set down roots here in the largest village in the desert." the kazekage said with the calmest and most persuasive tone he could manage.
"In all fairness, one pile of sand is just as good as another. you'll have to try harder than that if you want me to even think about giving up my life as a wanderer." the old man said with a frown.
"I'll use my rank and power as the head of the village so that you can have any women in the village that you want, regardless of who they may be." the kazekage said with a cold stare.
The old man stared at the kazekage for a long moment before slowly opening his mouth to speak. "And what do you think all the fathers out there would think about that? I know that you have a few kids yourself now. What were their names again? kanmari or something?" the old man asked.
"I have three kids now. kankuro is my oldest son, he's twenty two now. He enjoys working on being a puppet master. My oldest child is my daughter temari, she is training to be a fan based wind user. Then there is my youngest child Gaara, she's just a trouble child. it'd be in your best interest to stay away from her if you can." the kazekage said simply.
"And what would you do if some old guy just started hitting on your daughter, just because he had some great amount of wealth?" the old man asked.
"If it were for the sake of the village, then I would be glad that my daughter had such an important role." the kazekage said as he grit his teeth.
"Then I'll take your word for it, as well as test your resolve. I'll stay here for a short time. I'll live with your daughter Temari. anything that happens will simply happen,and you'll have to accept it and stay true to your word. I've been around for quite a long time and there is only one thing that pisses me off beyond all reason, somebody who breaks their word after acting tough about it." the old man said with a frown.
"If that's the case, wouldn't adding the sake to your bill be breaking your word and acting tough with an unsaid threat of not filling the water reservoir make you the one doing just that?" the kazekage said with a frown.
"yes it would, but i already know about my own level of hypocrisy. In all of history I am very possibly the most hypocritical person you'll ever hear about." the old man said.
"Can you at least guarantee the wellbeing of Temari?" the kazekage asked.
"of course, i may be a worthless old man who's sole remaining purpose is a little bit of medical ninjutsu and the ability to create water, but I'm confident in my strength enough to say she will come to no harm while under my care, and i'll do my best not to mentally scar her." The old man said with a half forced grin.
'Am I really about to risk sacrificing my little girl just for the chance we'll have water for years? I'm sorry temari, but this is for the future of the village.' the kazekage thought as he slowly closed his eyes.
"In any case, I'll have the agreed upon supplies and the sake taken to Temari's house for you tomorrow. Though it doesn't seem like I have the upper hand in anything with you, I dismiss you." The kazekage said as he handed the old man an address before he lowered his head in shame for what he was doing.
"at least you have the guts to make hard decisions without flinching to do what you have to," the old man whispered silently as he got up out of his chair and turned around, walking towards the door and exiting the room.
~Yang~
He looked down at the small slip of paper in his hand before glancing back at the small and honestly boring looking house in front of him. his gaze went back to the slip of paper once more before he turned it over, making sure there wasn't another address written on the back that he was actually supposed to go to.
"This doesn't look like a house meant to hold the eldest daughter of the village's most important man," Yang muttered before walking up to the door and lightly wrapping his knuckles against it.
He took a quick moment as he waited to go over himself. He was wearing his tattered cloak and a plain tan shirt with his hakama pants hanging loosely over his legs. All of it was dusted generously with sand from countless hours of exposure to the desert, as well as him simply sleeping wherever he pleased in the wide desert. with a quick whiff he could smell the foul scent of himself that easily declared the truth of his unwashed body. Since it was a desert, it wasn't uncommon to go a week or two at a time without taking a full bath or shower. usually one would at least wipe themselves down with a damp or wet rag once every few days though, but he honestly couldn't remember when he even did that simple courtesy for himself, it could have easily been over a year since he cleaned himself due to simply no longer caring. The only saving grace for him in the scent department was that, though he could no longer smell it himself due to prolonged exposure, he knew he smelled mildly or maybe even strongly of a very fine and expensive alcohol. not that he bought the alcohol though, it was simply a bonus from being the summoner of the tribe of creatures he had made a contract with in his far distant youth. his eyes glided along his arms, also dusted generously with sand, to fully land upon a set of intricate weaved leather bracers over his forearms. at a glance they were covered with countless scratches that barely touched the surface. he felt a deep ache in his chest as his mind drifted for a half second to the person who had made them for him before he snapped back to himself. he wasn't presentable in any way shape or form to meet a young girl, much less share a house with one. Then again he had no reason to be presentable to anybody, after all he wasn't worth a damn thing to anybody except for a glorified water source. Maybe at one point he had been a man who was worthy of respect and admiration, but that time was long gone. He wasn't worth anything anymore and probably never would be again.
As the depressing thought of his past went through his mind, the door opened to reveal a young woman with a simple white loose fitting dress like wrap over wire mesh with spiky blonde hair tied back into four separate short tails. adorning her back was a large black metal rectangle, proposedly a giant folding fan, with a suna forehead protector tied around her head. her body was average for his tastes, though it was probably lusted after by many men her age. within the half second it took for him to notice all of this, he watched as her face screwed up in complete and utter disgust at his obviously unappealing scent.
"Ugh, who the hell are you?" the woman asked as she pinched her nose.
"My name is Yang Toshiro. would this by chance be the house of Temari, daughter of the fourth kazekage?" Yang asked.
"Yeah, that's me. dear god, what did my father get me into now?" Temari muttered as she visibly restrained herself from slamming the door in his face.
"I suppose I'll be living with you for a short while." Yang said simply.
"yeah yeah yeah. the first thing you're doing is taking a shower and washing your clothes though, my water ration has been completely removed while you're here." Temari said as she stepped back and pointed towards a door farther in the house.
"Well, I suppose that's fair, though I don't have anything else to wear." Yang said as he walked past temari and headed for the indicated door.
"use my little brother's bathrobe then, he can deal with it if it gets ruined." Temari said before she slammed the door and walked off somewhere in the house.
'Honestly, she took it far better than I would have given the situation.' Yang thought as he walked into the bathroom and shut the door.
It was an entirely too simple room, a small toilet beside a sink and a small bathtub, small enough that he wouldn't be able to lay down in it without the entirety of his legs hanging out, with a small shower head above the tub. across from the toilet was a set of pegs driven into the wall from which hung a pair of bathrobes. One was a simple tan in color, matching the desert that was the immediate world outside, while the other had cutesy little pictures of seemingly random desert creatures. Below the hanging robes was a cloth based basket that he guessed was for holding clothing. The one thing he didn't see in the small room was any form of shower amenities.
With a sigh, Yang slid his hand down his left arm to his bracer and idly fingered one of the innumerable scratches in the leather. with a touch of chakra he was now holding a large black brick that gave off the faint scent of charcoal. he set the brick on the edge of the sink as his gently coursed his chakra again, his bracers disappearing to show a white dot the size of a grain of sand under each. he reached down and slowly removed his leather sandals that were attached to his woven leather shin guards identical to his bracers. setting his sandals to the side, he slowly undressed himself and stepped into the tub with the brick now in hand. He closed his eyes as he turned the water on and relished the feeling of the slowly warming liquid trickling over him.
~Temari~
she sighed as she looked down at the mission scroll in hand. she couldn't understand why it had to be her that had to do this mission, but it was apparently worth the high rating of s rank. In short she had to let this foul old man into her house and do whatever he asked of her. literally anything. if it weren't for the reason of why it had to be this guy, she would have laughed in her father's face as she turned the scroll into confetti and sent it spreading across the entire desert with a mighty swing of her beloved fan. this man she was to be with though was amazing. he had been around since the time of the first kazekage, easily over a hundred years old, and he had been bringing water to the village without fail for just as long, if not longer. he bloodline ability made his extremely important in this desolate desert. Anyone who could create water from nothing could rightfully ask to be treated as a king or even a god, for they held that much power. essentially they held the potential of life and death in his hands. Yet this old man had never asked for more than simple things; alcohol, tobacco, jerky, biscuits, a few small amounts of spices, a place to stay for a night, or for somebody he had found to be taken care of until they were able to look after themselves. This man for all intents and purposes was a saint for all he did and asking for practically nothing in return. for all she looked into the man in the short time she had been given before he arrived, she had found one main thing that stuck out, he never did anything that brought himself joy or satisfaction. It was almost like he was purposely punishing himself for something by being an outcast with only the bare minimum to survive. He was never even said to stay in a single place for more than a single day, so why would he change that now?
as temari pondered all this, she put the scroll away and started caring for her fan. When the shower door opened she glanced up to see the old man walking out of the bathroom wrapped in the tan bathrobe, her bathrobe, but this didn't even come to mind as her first question. The first question she had was why he was also wearing his tattered tan cloak over it, with the hood pulled low over his head so that all she could see was his mustache and below with the fade of black to gray and finally white. She stood there in shere confusion as the man walked over to the small washer in the room, loading his clothes inside and starting the machine.
"Why are you wearing my bathrobe?!" Temari shouted once she came back to herself.
"hmmm? sorry, i thought the other one was yours since it seemed distinctly more feminine than this one." Yang said with an indifferent shrug as he began putting his woven leather bracers back on.
"aren't you going to wash your cloak too?" Temari asked, knowing he wasn't wrong and therefore saw no avenue to argue with him since her younger brother was weird.
"I have no need to wash my cloak, it's special and doesn't require washing. a little chakra makes it as good as new. if you look closely, you won't see so much as a grain of sand on it.'' Yang said as he idly scratched his beard.
"If you say so i guess. Now I know you're the one technically in charge here, but i'd rather not share my bedroom. If the couch doesn't work for you, I'll buy a cheap futon for you. sound good?" Temari asked as he clenched her hands hoping he'd agree to what amounted to a request from her.
"hmm? it doesn't bother me one bit. I'm used to roughing it out in the desert with next to nothing. most nights i dont have so much as a tent anyways. id settle for just a spot on the floor honestly, can't be worse than countless nights sleeping on a random sand dune." Yang said as if anything to the contrary had never even entered his mind.
"If that's the case, why did you say what you did to my father?" Temari asked as she cocked her head slightly to the side.
"with great power comes great responsibility. This has been true since the dawn of time, and shall remain true until the last of the living enters the embrace of the gods in death. However, there is one big difference between a good leader and a great leader in my opinion. A good leader knows how to lead his people and give the orders that need to be given, however a great leader will never ask somebody to do something that he himself wouldn't do if he were better for the job. The leader doesn't have the ability to lead the charge, he's needed more behind to give his orders, but he should be prepared to lay his life down all the same. Consider this a test for your father. He would ask that any father give up their daughter if I asked, I merely wanted to see if he would follow his own rules as he asked of others." Yang said with a slight frown as he idly pulled a pair of shorts out of seemingly nowhere.
"If you have all this wisdom, why does nobody ask you for help running a village or something that would actually put you to use?" Temari asked.
"The easiest way to answer would be to tell you one of my many monikers that have been given to me. I have been given the name the eternal fool, cause my advice never works out. What I have thought to be good advice turned out to bring not one, but two entire clans to ruin. My sole redeeming grace is my ability to make water. don't ask for help with the hard stuff, my help tends to burn those i try to help. for some of the little stuff you can rely on me though. In my many years I've been able to toss some skills and jutsu to a few different people. I guess I'm just more practical than anything anymore. now if you'll excuse me for just a moment." Yang said as he stepped back into the restroom.
As Yang was out of sight, temari pondered the name she had just been told, feeling like she had heard it before. she glanced over to one of the few books she owned sitting on a small shelf across the room as it faintly clicked in her head. She had read the name of the eternal fool in the bingo book's cautionary section, the section for the people who didn't have any allegiance to a village but still had some decent amount of strength to them, just so you don't cross somebody who wasn't bound by anything more than their own rumors. As she thought about grabbing the book to refresh her memory, Yang walked out of the bathroom in just a pair of well made shorts that ended just below the knees and his tattered cloak.
"huh?" temari mumbled in surprise as she looked at yang.
The previously unimpressive old man had a body that many younger men would have killed for. He had good definition in all of his muscles, and though they were not bulky, they showed the strength of somebody who could pull off amazing physical feats while being able to move around with the utmost freedom. Each muscle was a chiseled work of art and functionality.
"Are you prepared for some light exercise?" Yang asked as he idly stretched his arms and neck.
"What do you mean?"Temari asked as she forced herself to tear her gaze away from the six pack on full display in front of her.
"I like to do the bare minimum to keep myself in shape everyday, granted there are days I go full out and train to stay sharp. "I'm simply asking if you'd like to join an old man like me in some simple stretches," Yang said as he slowly shifted his weight back and forth on his legs as he stretched them out slightly.
"Sure, just dont complain to me when you throw out your hip." Temari said with a smirk.
~Yang, ten minutes later~
"Look, I know it hurts right now, it's going to hurt a lot worse in a moment though. give it a few seconds and the pain will begin to fade though, so grit your teeth and do your best to bear it all right?" Yang asked as he looked down at temari.
Temari gazed up at him with a red face and misty eyes as she clenched her teeth and nodded, closing her eyes tight, knowing it was about to hurt as a single tear trailed down her face.
"Alright then, on three I'm going to put it in. one, two-" Yang said as he rapidly pushed in, catching temari right before she could tense her body, allowing for it to slide in with much less resistance.
"SON OF A BITCH!" temari screamed as she grabbed onto yang, digging her nails into his arm with all her strength.
"It's going to be all right now, cheer up. the worst part is over, the rest is as simple as me running a hand over it." Yang said as he gently patted her shoulder, completely ignoring the fingernails that were digging shallow cuts into his skin.
"Why the hell did this have to happen to me?" Temari asked as tears streamed down her face.
"you tried to do too much, instead of copying me you should have stuck to what you knew you could do. if you hadn't tried to get your knee around the back of your head, then you wouldn't have dislocated your hip.'' Yang said as his hand took on a faint green glow as it rubbed lightly over the recently relocated hip.
"I didn't know you were a medic nin," temari said as she gently rotated her leg to check her hip.
"I taught all I knew to a young woman years ago, but I'm not research smart. She has far surpassed me when it comes to having or being able to make a remedy for any injury, I merely have a few special cure alls. This was just a basic relocation though, not hard at all. anybody could have done it." Yang said with a self-demeaning shrug as he stood up.
"really? then aren't you highly sought after as a medic?" Temari asked.
"no, that's Tsunade who is sought after, I'm just a washed up bum who's only use is as a water source, and help in training." Yang said as his ever present frown deepened.
"oh. How can you bend like that? I've never seen somebody put both knees behind their head and cross their ankles just to do push ups before." temari said.
"my flexibility? First I must ask if you know about summoning contracts and what they on the answer I may have to explain them too." Yang said as he ran his hand through his beard.
"Summons are creatures you sign a contract too and then are able to summon for help in battle right?" temari asked as she tilted her head curiously.
"close but not quite. you can use them for all sorts of things, not just fighting. also there is more than just signing a contract and that being the end. To truly be called a summoner you become more than human, you become your summons to some extent. you live with them, eat with them, and train with them. they become more than a random helping hand, they become your family. Each tribe has its own way of fighting, and once you are accepted as family they will train you in their ways. My tribe is a certain type of felines who specialize in tactical fighting, flexibility, and ferocity. put all this together and you get an apex predator who can adapt on the move and fight through near any circumstance." Yang said with a rare smile as he showed pride in his summoning tribe.
"I never realized there was more than fighting to summons, the sickle weasels never seemed to want to do more than fight." temari said as he idly rubbed her chin.
"the sickle weasels? you'll need to be much more flexible to pull off all of their taijutsu. they focus on being able to move like the wind, turning and bending as if they had no physical form themselves." Yang said thoughtfully as he scratched his chin.
"you know them?" Temari asked in shock.
"not personally, no. I do however know of them, and what they are capable of. how about a little show and tell?" Yang said as he sat down cross legged.
"What do you mean?" Temari asked as she sat up and folded her legs under herself.
"You summon one of your weasels and I'll summon one of my kittens. while your weasel is here i can instruct you on how to begin building a relation with your summon clan." Yang said as he interlocked his fingers in front of himself.
"Sure, though I didn't think I'd be getting training when I was told to take you in. this should be fun." Temari said with a grin.
Yang watched as temari ran through a few hand seals before biting her thumb and slamming her bleeding hand to the floor. immediately a small cloud of smoke appeared and slowly dispersed to reveal a weasel the size of a loaf of bread.
"You called for my assistance?" the weasel asked in a slightly high pitched voice as it looked between Temari and himself with confusion.
"Hello young one, Temari is interested in deepening her bond with your tribe and I am here to assist her in doing such. I am Yang toshiro, the wandering hermit among the rainbow of stripes." Yang said as he bowed his head in respect.
"you're the wandering hermit of the rainbow of stripes? word was that you disappeared and went into hiding a really long time ago, what has brought you back from obscurity?" the weasel asked in sheer and utter awe.
"I have no intention to come back to the forefront of this world currently, I am merely being gracious to the young woman who is acting as my host. would you care if i brought one of my ilk along to help assist this young woman?" Yang asked as he lowered his head once more.
"not only would i not mind, i would be honored to meet one of such a respected tribe in person." the weasel said as it bowed its own head in a show of reverence.
"I hate to break the moment, but why are they treating you like you're the most important person they may ever meet?" Temari asked.
"I show my respect for the man who has bonded more fully with a clan than any other in history, going so far as to be akin to one of his clan as true family." the weasel said as it warily eyed temari.
"Please forgive her for her rudeness, I have become known as nothing more than a source of water who spreads his blessing for alms in the form of long lasting edibles for the road. Now please allow me to bring along one of my tribe. come along Koneko," Yang said before running through the hand seals and biting his own thumb, tapping it lightly against the floor.
Once more a small cloud of smoke appeared as it heralded the arrival of a summon. When the smoke faded a small black kitten with a pure white 王 on its forehead stretched and yawned before looking directly at him, completely ignoring the others present as it grinned widely, showing off its sharp fangs.
"Senpai! I haven't seen you in forever!" the kitten, Koneko, said happily as it punched into his lap.
"I apologize for the long time Koneko, would you be so kind as to help me show the young woman acting as my hostess how to properly bond with their summoned clan?" Yang asked softly as he gently rubbed the kitten's ears.
"Of course, anything for you senpai!" koneko beamed as she allowed a soft pur to be heard.
"I thought you had something stronger than just a normal cat from what you said earlier, but it's a cutie." Temari said happily as she looked at the adorable kitten.
The sound of purring immediately stopped as the kitten turned a piercing glare towards temari. The temperature in the room seemed to plummet as the kitten tilted its ears back and took on a more menacing grin.
"Listen human, I am far from a normal cat. do not let my simple visage mislead you, for it could be one of the last mistakes you will ever make." Konoke literally hissed.
"Forgive her koneko, she is as unlearned in our ways as you are in the ways of men. now temari, koneko here is not the simple kitten she seems to be. She is a tiger that specializes in infiltration and information gathering. She is also the daughter of the chief of the tiger clan of the rainbow stripes. she is also at least jonin level in sheer strength without adding in her special ability." Yang said as he comfortingly stroked Koneko's fur.
"what? but she's so small. I'm sorry, I'm not meaning to be rude here." Temari said with an apologetic bow.
"I suppose it's ok since senpai asked me to forgive you. Now as for forming a deeper bond, simply take the weasel you already summoned and keep it with you for a while. life with it as if it were family, learn their ways as it learns yours. That's about all there is so start with at least. I doubt you'd want to live with them for a few years right now anyways, not when you have my amazing senpai here to observe!" Koneko said as she gushed at the end.
"Has anybody ever lived with their summons for a few years? it seems kinda hard to see, since they would leave behind everybody they care about to live with a bunch of animals, err no offense meant." Temari said with a wince.
"they shouldnt take offense with that, they are animals after all, just highly intelligent and powerful animals. I can't speak for all summoners, but I have spent well over a decade with my summons. I have raised the young, trained the newly adulted, and buried the old. I've had good times and bad times, joy and sorrow, pain and jubilation and much much more with them. koneko here is one such child that I have raised since she was no bigger than my head." Yang said as he let a nostalgic smile cross his face.
"but she's smaller than your head now." temari said, confused.
"That's just because that's the form I am choosing to take currently. Most summoned creatures have a special power or two, and mine are body control and earth jutsu. my true size would be closer to that of a house, however i find this size more efficient for everyday use as well as information gathering. You can't see it now, but I have thick white stripes that cover a third of my body in my full size. Right now I might seem like a cute little kitten, but I'm really a fierce tiger. rawr!" Koneko said with a cute little growl at the end as she puffed her chest out.
"She says she prefers her smaller form, but that's just because I can't do this as easily when she is in her full size." Yang said as he reached down and gently scratched under Koneko's chin with his index finger.
"So how long do I have to keep my weasel with me?" Temari asked.
"I'll start you at a week, consider it a warming up period. After that I would suggest going for a month with your end goal being you spending a good amount of time with their clan. you should also keep them within a certain proximity as you. different breeds require more space than others, however being within the same village should suffice for now as long as you both share this residence. Now a good teacher knows that certain things deserve a reward,and undertaking a nearly lost art such as a summon bonding show definitely qualifies. Have you heard of the oasis?" Yang asked as he tilted his head down as if to stare into her eyes, though his eyes remained hidden.
"Do you mean the expensive lounge and restaurant?" Temari asked.
"Yes, that's the one. Some years ago I saved the man who owns the establishment. He told me to drop by whenever I wanted. I've never been there before, but this seems like a decent excuse to accept his hospitality." Yang said as he walked over to the washer.
"Are you sure? it's said to have a waiting list of several months just to get in by reservation." Temari said as her eyes widened in amazement that this man could supposably just walk into such a place.
Yang pulled his damp clothing out of the washer and ran a hand over them, moving all of the water out of the fabric and depositing it in the washer as if it were as easy as breathing.
"If I don't use it now, I'll never visit the establishment. Now give me a moment to change. Oh, it does have a dress code of a suit and tie or dress I believe. I should be able to bypass the code myself, but you should try to match it if you can." Yang said before he stepped into the restroom.
he stared into the mirror for a moment before pulling the hood back from his head. with the hood removed it showed a messy head of black hair with a single lock of pure white over his left temple. Below his hairline was the face of a man much younger than he appeared, hidden more by his beard. The oddest part of his appearance was his eyes without a doubt. there was no white to his eyes, instead a pure black that ended at a pure white ring that surrounded the black pupil.
he sighed into the mirror before he ran his hand down his face before clenching his fists.
'What am I getting myself into? I swore off personal gain and the simple joys of being around people ever since I fell from grace. Why am I allowing myself to be around others again? it'll just lead to more pain for me and everybody else one more time in this long painful existence. Why did I have to let my feelings take control to set a father to the straight and narrow when it isn't any of my business, especially when it involves more than just him. I'll stay for a week or two then I'll head back into the vast desert where I can't hurt anybody again. I can't let myself be brought back into the fold of everyday life and knowledge again.' Yang thought as he quickly put his newly cleaned clothes back on, putting the back over his head to hide his face once more before exiting the restroom once more with a sigh.
as he reentered the main room he had to pause as he took in the new sight of temari.
She had removed the hair ties from her hair and brushed it out to fall down slightly past her shoulders. Her normal clothes were now replaced with a v-neck red dress that went down to her mid calves and barely covered her shoulders. adorning her feet were a pair of simple yet elegant red high heels with a one or maybe two inch heel on them. as his eyes flicked to her face he could see her looking away nervously with a subtle touch of lipstick and a hint of eyeliner as a faint application of mascara brought more attention to her lashes. around her neck was draped her weasel, lying there as if it was about to take a nap.
"a-are you ready to go then?" Temari asked.
"Just about." Yang said as he knelt down and placed a hand flat on the floor.
koneko blinked before a happy gleam came to her eyes, she ran across the room before easily walking up his arm to crawl into the back of his hood with a faint purring sound being heard.
"Now I'm ready if you'd be so kind as to be my accompaniment for the night." Yang said as he gave an old fashioned bow and held his hand out.
"Of course, let's start going then." temari said nervously as she took his hand as they made their way out the door.
AM: I wanted to get past the oasis and into the true start of this story, however I feel like this is a good part to stop at and leave it as the preface. next chapter shall be a fun one as I have a lot to set up for it, as well as a few new characters to introduce and a little mutinous scheming to potentially do for my character. Honestly, I'm excited to write this, since I have been literally planning it for YEARS and am finally getting to type. all the little tweaks i've done have made this a story i have been ding to do and now i can happily post this. I apologize if there are a few errors here and there as I'm only human and most likely missing a few.
