Making amends

[Checkmate]

Tenma, Mitsurashi walked through the slums of Iwagakure no Sato with a down trodden expression on his face. He had run from a fight with his tail between his legs. Not literally. He was looking for his team mate. He had probably offended her, and the thought of having a repeat of his previous team was not even an option. He needed to make things right, or he would be without a team. Again. He didn't really know where she lived, but kept walking. If she wanted to talk to him, she would show herself.

[Ein]

The slums weren't exactly the best place in Iwagakure no Sato; the streets were older, the buildings marred with age and fading with increasing use, and the people tended to avoid ending up here.

People on this side of town were down on their luck, immigrants that just moved in, or even ex-slaves that were either freed or managed to cheat their way out of bondage. Apartments towered over narrow streets of stone, each shoved with large families and countless workers. Although there was little crime here, the place still held an aura of . . . unpleasantness.

Still, in an area resembling a training ground for academy students, Ishiko was instructing a team of younger Shinobi on the principles of Henge. The two kids were both trying to transform into Ishiko. She'd point out minor error, stressing that detail was the main point of Henge and continue working on them. It was in the middle of lecturing one of the kids that her hair wasn't pink, but blue, that Ishiko caught sight of the Tenma.

Blinking for a moment and having her breath trapped in her throat, Ishiko tried to be insincere and glance away, but it wasn't in the girl's nature. Hesitantly, she'd glance towards the academy students and mutter, "Good; now just remember where I keep my kunai holster and put it in the right place . . . I've got to go for now, guys." The two Ishiko, one with red hair and a poorly designed outfit, one with pink hair and a blue outfit sighed and pleaded for her to stay a moment longer, but soon gave up when Ishiko politely asked to be excused.

Walking slowly, she'd have her arm lift up behind her back and grip her right elbow with her left hand, tensing a bit. She was a bit nervous as to what he wanted. "Hey, uh, do we have a mission or something?" Hoping that this was the case.

[Checkmate]

Rashi shook his head. "No, no mission. I just..." He faltered, not knowing how to express himself. "I wanted to apologize for the other day. I shouldn't have left. And... I'm really sorry for... eh... trying to steal from you." Rashi sighed in relief. He had finally done it. He had been gathering the courage to apologize to his team mate for two days, and had finally done it. He forced himself to put his pride aside, and do something he had never done before.

The apology had been crude, but it was sincere. He just hoped he hadn't waited too long.

[Ein]

Ishiko blinked. And here she was expecting something along the lines of an ass coming along and being all . . . . jerk-like. She really wasn't prepared for something like this. It was too damn sentimental.

He was just being a jerk all over again, acting mean and insufferable on their first encounter and then, suddenly, deciding it would be best to randomly appear before Ishiko and offer an apology.

Biting her lip and calculating an appropriate response, Ishiko would clench her fist and teeth, before locking her eyes with the Tenma.

"I get that we're team-mates . . . and you're trying to be sincere, but you should apologize to Namiyo. Not to me." She said this, looking at him at first, but glancing away as she finished.

"So, what? Is that what you came here to say to me? I'm supposed to forgive you now?"

[Checkmate]

Rashi looked into the eyes of his team mate. I do not expect you to forgive me, or to trust me. I jest needed to tell you that I am truly sorry. I still need to talk to Namayo, its true, but I needed to talk to you first. I was a total jerk, and honestly, that is more me than how I am now. I've been thinking for the past few days about why my first team didn't work out. I had always thought that it was because of them, but it was my fault. I was a jerk, and they treated me the way I deserved to be treated. I really want this to work out, but it won't work out if I continue to be a jerk."

His eyes fell to the ground. He couldn't look her in the eyes. It reminded him too much of his failure with the first team he was in. He needed to have a serious attitude adjustment, but this would do for now.

[Ein]

Ishiko sighed. This kid . . . was really hopeless.

Smiling as he wrapped up his corny little speech she'd offer him a smirk, shaking her head. "Are you always so serious about everything? Fine, I accept your apology. Just don't break out in tears and rant on about friendship and the importance of have friends. I read enough manga as it is."

Teasing him slightly, she'd walk up next to him and motion for him to follow. "So . . . awkward first meeting aside, I'm Ishiko. No last name." Stopping herself with a blink, the Genin quickly realized that the boy next to her knew this. "And, uh . . . yeah. What about you? You never told me your name after running off."

[Checkmate]

The knot in Rashi’s stomach was beginning to come undone. The girl had accepted his apology verbally, but it had yet to be seen whether or not she would truly forgive him.

When she asked for his name, he immediately stopped. She had a right to know his true name, but he would not tell her just yet. Such knowledge could be abused if placed in the hands of the wrong people.

“You can just call me Rashi. I’m from the Tenma clan.” He said finally before following the girl.

[Ein]

Ishiko nodded, her smile showing a flash of her own pearly whites as he seemed to hesitate with his name. She took it as him being nervous; and she took it as him being just a bit sincere. That redeemed him. Just a bit.

Okay, she thought. "Come on! Your little melodramatic speech kind of slowed me down, and I've got to do some shopping with some yen I got from my missions!" Her left hand would reach up, and practically drag Rashi through the less-than active alleys and leading him into the market.

Momentarily, she'd pause, her eyes perking. "Rashi, you're not too smart, are you?" She asked, glancing back towards her hapless victim. "You stealing from Nami-chan and I means you have to make it up to me, and you'll do that, right?"

Manipulative as she was, the girl seemed to only be enjoying herself with what have otherwise have been errands. "Well? You will help out a girl and carry her bags, won't you?" Asking this, despite the fact that her body seemed tone from training. Far more physically fit than Rashi, at least.

Maybe she just wanted Rashi to suffer a bit?

[Checkmate]

Rashi blinked, and in that span f time, he was grabbed and drug through the dirty streets. “What are you doing?” He asked in surprise. She was much stronger than he was, and so it was pointless to resist.

“Well, technicaly, I didn’t steal from you. I tried to, and failed. Also, I am, to be honest, a kleptomaniac. It’s one of my more prominent personality traits. But… I suppose I should help out, but you have to let me go first.”

[Ein]

Ishiko nodded, not really listening much to the boy's explanation about being a klepto-whatever it was. The girl's attention was more focused on Rashi's admission that he would be her slave for the day. She got a silly sort of happiness out of his admission, and burst into a great, satisfied smile. The sort of smile girls had when they got their way. Her dimples were light, smooth crevices on her cheeks, barely visible, and her eyes shut momentarily as her nose crinkled at the ticklish sensation she felt in her stomach.

"Great!" Obviously not paying much attention to what he was saying, Ishiko would march through the crowd with something resembling a hunter's pride after claiming their prize. She'd lead Rashi to a small stand filled with things that mattered to only the select few.

The stall was bursting at the seems with manga, dried, exotic ramen, foreign candies, and plush toys galore. The attendent at the stall was fanning himself with a small, cheap paper fan. He was entering his thirties, with fatter cheeks, a starting-to-bulge belly, and short legs that never got much excersize. He didn't seem like much, 'cept for his eyes. His eyes held the cunning of a shop-keep who's swindled many in his time.

He'd eye Ishiko momentarily as she browsed through his wares, fanning himself casually.

"Mm . . . Rashi? Tell me," glancing towards him with a mischievous giggle and the flash of her sapphire eyes, "how much yen do you have on you?"

[Checkmate]

Rashi blinked. He had not brought any money with him. He hadn't expected to be paying for anything.

"I eh... don't have any cash." He said with a hint of mischief in his voice. He then leaned in closer to his team mate's ear so that the shop keeper would not hear and said, "But when a man of my talent is at your side, you have no need for coins. I can give you the five finger discount. What d'you say?"

He didn't know why he was being so helpful to her. He was not like this normally. Then again, he was out to set a new path for his life.

[Ein]

Ishiko smiled at the proposition. Predictable. But sweet.

The clerk, however, who had the ears of a hawk, didn't seem to take a liking to what Rashi was whispering to the girl. His scowl was deepend and he stood over the two with the stance of an animal defending their domain. This made the girl's smile broaden.

"What'd you say, ya little punk?!" The Shop-keep's shadow eclipse the sun over the two as he rose and came between Ishiko and Rashi and the stand of collectibles. "Well? Would you like to explain what you were proposing, delinquent?"

Ishiko, who had mysteriously disappeared from Rashi's side and re-appeared behind him, had her smile curve into a scowl for the shop-keep. "Hey! My boyfriend doesn't take lightly to big old perverts who call him a whatever-you-just-called-him!" Quickly reaching down and locking his arm with hers with a conscious flex of the arm muscle that she had that Rashi lacked, Ishiko would smile and stick her tongue out at the shop-keep. "Right, honey-bunch?"

The shop-keep's cheeks rose to a crimson, and his whole body trembled with rage. "IS THAT RIGHT?! WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO, PUNK?!"

Poor Rashi.

[Checkmate]

Rashi blinked in indifference. Saying he was used to the distain others felt toward his clan, and therefore him, would be an overstatement, but it didn’t surprise him in the least. He was just glad that, other than his tail, he held no resemblance to his clan members. The fact that his team mate had used him as a shield was nothing new. It had happened with his previous team as well, which was partly why he had left.

It took great self control to keep his body from shuddering at the thought of his last squad. Lazy, bossy, and racist were all words which could be used to describe them. They had been happy to be rid of the Tenma genin. In fact, Rashi would have to be kidding himself to think that those had not been smirks of triumph on the faces of his squad mates when he informed them of his leaving.

Rashi was broken from his train of thought by the presence of Ishiko behind him. She locked her arm in his, knowing that he lacked the strength to oppose her even if he wanted to. He knew that such signs of distain would be unwise, however. She had, although most likely without trying, opened a door for Rashi: a door that he planned to take in order to get out of this mess.

The Tenma gazed into the shop keeper’s yellow eyes, not really seeing an intelligent human, but more a feral beast. He doubted the prospect of the man resorting to violence, as he had technically done nothing wrong, but he did bend his knees, ever so slightly, so that he could leap to either side if the situation proved to be unfavorable, which it already was.

“Dude, it was a joke, calm down.” Rashi said calmly. “Do I look like I am capable of stealing from a man of such obvious vigilance as you, sir?” As he said this, his long, demonic tail slithered out behind him an inch above the ground. His anger did not show, but he felt a need to take something from this guy, even just to spite him.

Due to the angle that Rashi was standing at, where his team mate was, and where the shop keeper was, the tail was completely blocked from the man’s view. As his tail slithered out, it wrapped around a small plush toy which sat comfortably on the lower most rack of the man’s shop. As he pulled it back under his long, flowing robe, Rashi turned to Ishiko and said, “Come on, honey, I don’t want you to be around this guy.” As he did so, he glanced away from the man’s eyes for the first time since the encounter began, searching the streets for any onlookers, and sighing in relief when he saw no one there.

Looking back at the man, Rashi grabbed Ishiko’s right hand with his left and began to turn around, pulling her with him and saying, “I apologize for the misunderstanding, Sir.”

[Ein]

"You tell him, honey-bunch!" Were the last few words Ishiko blatantly spat at the shopkeeper.

What had just transpired was the blatant abuse of a poor shop-keeper, with the beneficiary being a Genin of about 13 years of age. Grinning as Rashi took her by the hand, she'd follow along, her eyes shimmering as she'd break stride along the middle of a street and smile towards Rashi.

"You really are hopeless, aren't you?" She said, teasing the Tenma. Her hands would cross over her mid-section, inter-locking loosely with a certain ease. "Honestly; you go out of your way to apologise to me for stealing from Nami, and you can't help but offer to steal from my favorite store?" Raising her hands in a sign of defeat, Ishiko would turn.

She couldn't help but let out a slight giggle, stifling it almost immediately with a blush Rashi couldn't see. Sure, it was flat-out wrong to steal, but that was pretty fun. And Ishiko supposed that Rashi had good intentions. Quickly turning on heel and letting her smile show to Rashi, Ishiko sighed, her right finger lifting up to twirl a lock of blue hair. "I guess what you did was nice. Even though it was pretty mean. I mean, that guy's a jerk anyway. So, uh, thanks. Thanks for the offer."

Clearing her throat and quickly turning away from Rashi, Ishiko would mutter, "All the good stores don't have the merchandise I wanted. You, uh, wanna get lunch?"

[Checkmate]

Rashi nodded, his mind elsewhere. He didn't know where, but it wasn't there...

Snapping back to reality, Rashi said, "Oh, sure, lunch would be fine. And here, you can have it if you want it."

He pulled out the plush toy from beneath his robe and tossed it from his tail to his hand, offering it to the girl.

[Ein]

"Here, then," Ishiko offered up a small food stamp good for one free meal at the Ougonjidai Restaurant. It was about the length and size of a playing card, with the depiction of a juicy steak drawn on the cover.

Ishiko took the plush toy, smiling. "Look, I've got to go back to my house and get to work on some stuff; I'll meet you there!" Saying this quickly, Ishiko began to sprint off, waving towards Mitsurashi with the plush toy in hand.

"Oh, I might show up late! If I do, feel free to start without me!"

On the back of the card, in careful, deliberate hand-writing, was a note:

Tenma; I've written two notes. One in case I forgave you, the other a death-threat for stealing from Nami.

This is the first one, so don't worry.

All in all, I'm glad that you joined. You and I graduated at about the same time, but we never did talk much, did we? I guess I was busy with stuff and so were you. I'm glad you joined because, despite you being an obvious kleptomaniac, you're a competent shinobi.

you're a good guy

you are really nice

The following lines were written with less precision or deliberate elegance; almost scrawling:


Scratch all that;

I'm writing this quickly, so you can't notice:

I don't really like sappy speaches, but I think you're genuine. I just want to say, thanks for saying sorry. Also, welcome to the team.

You're a great addition, and I hope we get to be good friends.

- Ishiko

PS: Make sure to become friends with Nami!

PPS: You really are a good guy. I had fun! Let's do it again, sometime!

--

Ishiko would never reach the Restaurant. As she was getting up from a small cat nap, Mori stepped in, kidnapped the girl, and rushed her off for her meeting with fate.

She spent the rest of the day half-knocked out, and barely knowing what was going on.

[Ein]

[OOC: Done, I believe?]

[Checkmate]

((yea))