AN: I am kinda pushing the use of family nick names, I find them cute and endearing… as well as a push to the fact the original language is japanese and I don't want to completely forgo the story's settings and originations. Well! To the story~
" Ane! Wait up!" I shout as I try to catch up to Rin that is nearing the end of the street.
It's been six months since I came to the town of Chochin, Two since I have finished my training and been put on table duty.
Working at a tea shop is much different than working at a fast food restaurant or even a diner. With much complicated etiquette you must memorise in order to be a 'proper' hostess.
Keeping your back straight, holding the teapot at the correct angle to display the artwork, what degree or angle to place cups and what parts you must not touch.
My ghost ache goes down my back as I remember the madam lightly smacking my back everytime my posture went out of place.
How to properly greet guests of each rank and identify their rank at a glance, be seen not heard and always be prepared to assist with cleaning or pour a fresh cup of tea if it becomes cold.
And that is just the etiquette for the serving itself; there are many types of tea and different ways to brew it. Some types adding leaves before adding heat, some pour hot water over the leaves in a straining cloth, some even require a low simmer for long periods of time while seeping the crushed leaves in order to eliminate the bitterness and prolong the savoury aftertaste.
All of these things I had to memorise and do perfectly before being put to work in the front.
Memorising tea types and flavours in order to cater to preferences and give recommendations for finicky customers.
Rin heard my shout and glanes back, seeing me she stopped and let me catch up.
"You're off early today imouto?" Rin says with a smile and questioning gaze, not that I had ever skipped out on work before.
"Yep! Madam let me off early since I covered Chichi's shift yesterday. You're going to the bakery on the south side right? Can I join you?" I reply with a chirp.
"I suppose I could spare some time to spend with my imouto." Rin says with a smile that reaches her eyes and she goes to ruffle my hair but decidedly pokes my forehead instead seeing my hair is wrapped neatly and not yet wispy from the day's work.
We turn the street corner and head towards the south.
After finishing my training I began working as a waitress at the teashop.
For the first month I did not receive any pay to give back to the shop for the food and housing given for free during training.
After the first month my salary was given on a weekly basis, but also reduced to pay for my expenses in comparison to an employee that has their own house and amenities.
Each day I work from noon to six in the afternoon. In the periods after I go into the nearby forest for privacy and attempt to move my chakra with little success.
Having no control over something so important to this world is unnerving.
That day the caravan got attacked and my chakra got a rapid drain causing me to pass out.
Looking back my lack of chakra likely is what prevented the enemies from finding me.
Having attempted to move chakra has been unsuccessful but my attempts to do so seems to have strengthened my sensor abilities, now having a larger range and being able to pick out emotions in chakra signatures , being aware of this at all times is a little mentally straining so most my focus is set to blocking it out during work hours.
" Imouto, we are here." I hear Rin say right before I bump into the back of her arm.
Embarrassed at my inattention I brush it off with a question.
" Ane! What are you gonna get today!" I say looking up and trying my best to look cute.
Perhaps if I am cute enough she will buy me a portion so I won't have to spend the paycheque.
"I was thinking of getting a butter Takyaki. But they should have strawberry flavoured ones now that spring is approaching, I'll have to check."
We enter the shop, its oil painted paper walls depicting little flying fish being chased by a sea creature. Not off-brand for a shop whose main sales is Taiyaki. But the smell of warm bread seeping from the vents at the top of the door is a big enough attraction for my stomach to growl.
We enter the shop, Rin going first in the line. I stand a little ways behind her.
Rin quickly notices the strawberry Taiyaki on display and buys two.
She turns around and hands me one. My stomach growling loudly I happily accept.
"Arigato Ane!" I say chomping on the fish shaped pastry.
" Your Welcome, This is my favourite flavour but sadly it's a seasonal good. Only fair I share some."
After leaving the shop I parted with Rin, saying my goodbyes and making an excuse of wanting to try to fish in a nearby steam that just melted from the winter.
Heading over to the forest I sit under a tree and start meditating. A struggle in itself attempting to block out all the outside chakra and focus on my own, wanting to bring it to the surface of my hand, holding my breath in strain as it burns against my skin , afraid the movement would shake the small stream of energy from its path.
A loud chakra signature suddenly flares up next to me.
"Kid, you're gonna hurt yourself doing it like that."
I rolled back in shock, hitting my head against the tree I was sitting under.
I look up, cringing my eyes at the pain blooming on the back of my head before my chakra washed over the spot easing the pain.
Looking up I see a man in his early teens, about fourteen, pale skin and black curly hair with matching eyes with a standard kohana flak jacket.
"You're a kid yourself! How do you do it then? I wanna be able to do stuff like ninjas do!" Doubling my cute factor for this particular sentence.
The nin seems to huff.
"Brat, we aren't really supposed to teach outsiders how, but you have been at this for like a week so I doubt you will listen if I just tell you to stop."
He is correct in that fact. I look up at him and cross my arms and puff my chest as a show of stubbornness that I really shouldn't do towards a trained killer, but his chakra doesn't feel malicious , it's warm and kind.
"You're supposed to pull it through your core." He says, poking my belly softly.
" And you're supposed to use your breath to direct the flow, breathing helps your chakra move and blend, releasing the yang aspect into yin. Holding your breath and pushing without direction like that could have crippled your system, there is a reason they have a place for teaching it specially."
I look down and try to focus on breathing instead of pushing chakra out, my own chakra moving smoother now, I try to wind the wisp I grabbed onto with my focus into my belly to mix, I lose track of the wisp in the whirlwind of energy and exhale, sweaty from my attempt.
"You have been flaring your chakra all week. The post has been distracted by it."
I have the decency to look embarrassed. I didn't think anyone could sense me all the way into the forest, I should have been more attentive by the fact that the guard post is less than half a mile from town.
"Thanks I guess.. I am Enkai! Who are you?"
Looking down at me the teens' eyebrows pinch for half a second before responding.
" I am Shi. I am on patrol for a bit out here."
Shi looks up and to the right as if he can see something.
"I gotta get going kid, Don't go blowing up your tenketsu again!"
He promptly disappears into a flurry of leaves.
Isn't that supposed to be a jonin level technique? He looks fourteen, that's like genin age.
And what is with that name 'Shi' like really that is like the most basic fake name ever.
I ignore the afterthought, Shi is long gone now, his signature faded beyond my sensing reach.
I decide to keep attempting before huffing and laying on my back, my forehead sweaty with loose wisps of my hair sticking to it.
Well at least it doesn't burn to move it anymore.
—-
As late spring hit, Reku came through the town again with the caravan.
Heading back towards the lightning country with lumber to sell.
He made a visit to Attakai's to drop off Suna tea leaves before patting my head and leaving without a word.
Looking back he was likely avoiding his mother, Madam likely doesn't approve of his travels and rough lifestyle when she herself values grace and mindfulness.
Not to mention she is well known for lecturing anyone who doesn't do as she says.
—-
After a full year of work at the teashop the Madam has moved me to tending towards the private rooms booths.
Many different customers come through, most of them being nin looking for a meet up.
Many have a system of passwords that one must give to the front table to enter the booths area.
Being trusted with this task warmed my heart but also made me sick as the nature of the task.
Many will come in with blood still on their clothes or discuss information on corpses retrieved from the border skirmishes .
I stomached it fine until one day a sound nin came in to meet with an older gentleman and I was assigned to tend to their table.
Common courtesy is to not make eye contact with those in a role or position above your own.
So when I glanced up to pour tea for the sound nin and saw the familiar green and yellow striped bracers I became nauseous from an old memory.
They look like the same bracers as the ones worn by the missing nin who killed Jiro.
Such a small detail sent me into a panic, noticing small blood smatters on the bottom of the customers bracers made acid burn at my throat and the feeling of a headache forming in behind my eyes.
I close my eyes , fluttering my lashes downwards and excuse myself.
As soon as I am out of sight I rush to the bathroom available to employees on the second floor and empty the contents of my stomach into the sink. Luckily I didn't have much to eat and it wasn't a huge mess.
I look up into the mirror, turning on the water to rinse the acid down the drain.
My eyes are bloodshot and the eyeliner and lipstick is smeared.
My heart dropped into my chest, seeing the familiar bracers are a cause for emotional distress.
But that isn't what made my heart drop.
Staring back at me in the mirror, my eyes filled with shock, My eyes are both a blood red with black tomeos spinning in my pupils, one tomeo in my right eye and two in my left. Looking down I notice my own sight is enchanted, the porcelain sink seems to glisten in different colours despite it only normally being white, my own hands handing a flow of white streams running through them meeting and swirling at little points as I focus on them.
I have the sharingan.
I guess this makes me a part of two almost extinct clans.
I give a rough laugh as I try to make humour out of the situation but it quickly turns into a sob.
I can't go back to my shift like this, I have to hide this, so many people are after the sharingan in cannon, I don't want to be a lab rat either.
I focus inside my chakra and pull the wisps away from my eyes and force it to circulate back into my regular rotation.
I watch the red bleed to a charcoal black.
I should probably ask the Madam to have a different server take care of that table.
I should probably get up and go back to work.
But I can't bring myself to.
I let out a sob and hugged my knees to my chest.
I am so utterly screwed.
AN: I wonder who that mysterious ninja called Shi is? oryoucanjustcheckthetags Eh… it's not like anyone reads the authors notes anyways.
I think this chapter will give a good hint towards who enkai's father is..
Anyways I kinda am forgoing the whole " you have to train to make your sharingan level up' cap because ~trama~ is character development in my opinion. Also uzumaki have the same genes as senji im pretty sure… idk i know they came from the same common ancestry, but really this is a fanfiction about a fictional world.. I can bend small details right?
Early chapter ... happy 1k veiws!
Ane: Big sis
Imouto: little sis in this particular use
Chochin: meaning 'lantern' for this towns large use of oil paper lanterns