Siblings & a Hot day

[Willoria]

Junpei sat on the back porch of the home he shared with his parents and his sister, simply enjoying the day. He stayed in the shade, laying on his back as the day was half over already and the heat was near its peak. His jacket was discarded on a chair behind him and he simply sat in a pair of comfortable pants and a no-sleeve shirt, staring up at the porch's covering over him. Beside him was a half-empty bento he had been nibbling on, along with a half drank matcha bubble tea he'd been enjoying. He had no shoes on and seemed to just be relaxing after a long morning.

To his other side was a small stack of books, about four in total, and two or three scrolls. He'd been studying up on a few ninjutsu arts as he relaxed. But now he was distracted, thinking on his interactions the day before with another shinobi. The kunoichi's name was Hizashi Rika, and though she outranked him, she was about the same age as he was. She had impressed him greatly, though he was sure his lack of rank had left far less of an impression on her. He hated leaving bad impressions, and though he'd tried to make up for that by taking her out for lunch and giving her a break from her work in the Library he couldn't help but wonder.

He thought he heard movement behind him and sighed, tilting his head to try and get a look. "Ayako? That you?" he called.

[Valkier]

The gentle pat of footsteps faltered just as a shadow fell over Junpei's face. Damn it, again? How does he know? She let out a quiet sigh. One day soon, I'll get the jump on him. Just you wait, big brother.

"You're slacking off again, Juni," Ayako said, voice accusatory, and moved into his view to stare down at him from above. She adopted an exaggerated frown and looked him over, sitting there with his loose top, missing shoes and far-too-carefree expression. He hadn't even finished his rice. "How are you ever going to get promoted when you lie around like this every day?" She nudged him with a foot, then ruined the entire act by failing to hide a smirk.

She glanced around at the empty yard, noting the eddies of heat rising from the baking ground. Maybe it was a bit hot to train right now--not that she'd admit it--and so instead she moved to sit down on the porch beside him, pushing aside some of the books and scrolls. One lay open, clearly half read. And then she waited. To anyone else in the world they'd look like two siblings simply relaxing in the afternoon heat, carefree and happy, but she knew him too well. Junpei might not be as dedicated as he could be sometimes, but this was different. She could feel a silence brewing, and that wasn't at all normal.

"Alright, out with it. Wipe that vacant look from your face and tell me what's bothering you already."

[Willoria]

Jun grinned up at his sister even as she tried to frown down at him and chide him. When she tried to nudge him with a foot, his hand come out and ran a finger under her foot to try and tickle it in retaliation. "I'll get there, don't you worry." he replied, sticking his tongue out at her in response. But from there he fell silent, even closing his eyes as he tried to return to relaxing in the midday heat. He felt the shifting of the boards underneath him, if only just barely, as Ayako moved around and finally seemed to sit down. He opened one eye to see she was sitting next to him and had moved some of his scrolls around that he had been studying. There were a few on their clan ninjutsu arts, some on Iijutsu out of a simple curiosity, though the one he had been reading more recently was on puppetry. It was an art he wasn't all that familiar with but had been growing more curious about as of late.

Though he had more of a view of her back, he could tell she had a question for him and he opened both eyes and waited. Eventually it came out and Junpei sighed. "Hm. Never have been able to hide much from you have I, Aya?" he replied quietly. He expelled a short breath from his nose, staring up at the canopy overhead again for a moment as he thought over what to tell her, unsure of exactly how she might respond or what she might think of the entire situation. "Seems Mom has finally had enough of me ignoring any serious flings I guess." he finally started. "She sent me to meet someone yesterday... a girl my age that she intends to match me with." he added, turning his head to look at Ayako a moment. "She's setting up an arranged marriage for me." His tone was fairly simple. He wasn't necessarily upset by the arrangement, especially now that he had met Rika and he actually found the girl both beautiful and fascinating on near every level. But it didn't change the fact that when he'd been on his way to the meeting he'd felt a pit in his gut that it wasn't his choice necessarily. He still had mixed feelings about it at the core of the issue.

[Valkier]

Ayako's gaze followed the lazy spinning of a parched leaf caught in an eddy of heat while she waited for her brother to open up, or else tell her to shut it. Either was likely, though he never meant the latter in a hurtful way. Not Juni. Or perhaps, she thought as the silence stretched longer than usual, he just wouldn't reply at all--but then he did, and before he could finish she snorted loudly, tried to contain it, spluttered, then let go and laughed aloud, head thrown back to the sky.

"Oh, that poor girl! What did she do to mom?!" She had to thrust out an arm to catch herself from falling backwards. "No, no, don't tell me: It's different this time, she might be the one, she gets you!" Ayako cackled and wiped away a tear before gradually getting a grip upon herself. "But really, is that all? You had me worried for a moment there, I thought something was actually getting to you!" She'd given up remembering all the names of Junpei's various flings and meant-to-be's. Although, she had to admit, it was a change--surprising, perhaps a little concerning--for their mother to step in and arrange a match without his input. The woman shared many traits with her children, but Junpei's blasé approach to romance was not one of them. Ayako let her smile fade a little, then nudged her big brother on the arm. His morose attitude was even more telling.

"Oh, go on then, what's wrong with her? What's she like?"

[Willoria]

Junpei rolled his eyes at his sisters jokes and simply sighed, waiting for her to get done ribbing him. It wasn't wholly undeserved, but in the moment it certainly didn't make him feel much better. In fact, the more she spoke of it all the more he wondered how Rika might react if she heard it all. It left him frowning deeply as he realized that was another conversation they probably would need to have. He couldn't even remember the names of all his past flings, the times he had felt certain he'd felt someone who truly understood him only to find himself flashed as eye candy, or mocked for his supposed lack of intelligence because of his low rank or whatever else had gone wrong in the end. He sighed again, suddenly realizing Ayako had gone quiet as she had asked him about Rika and he couldn't help a small smile pulling at the corners of his lips.

"Her name is Hizashi Rika." he admitted quietly to start. "She's my age, and a Special Jounin... and there's nothing wrong with her." he told her, turning his head to look at Ayako a moment before shaking his head. "She's in charge of the library, I think even the organization its tied to, that Scribes of the Sand its called? She's a puppeteer and smart as all hell." He frowned slightly as he thought about her, though not because anything he was saying made him necessarily unhappy.

"Honestly I'm the one she should find flaws with, Aya. This girl is a hell of a lot smarter than me, far more driven, outranks me... you know she seems to be friends with the former Kazekage? She's on a first name basis with her.. I'm just kind of shocked. Yet she's completely okay with the idea of us being an arranged match, so long as we get to know one another a bit first..." He felt lost, confused, and oddly hopeful all at once. Junpei wasn't sure if what he should be feeling, but somehow what he was feeling felt all wrong.

It just left him sighing yet again.

[Valkier]

Ayako swung her feet idly, face impassive, but was listening carefully. Juni's usual reaction to her jibes would be a quick rebuttal--he was far sharper than he gave himself credit for--or at least a little laugh; this time he seemed almost.. melancholy. She felt a sudden pang of affection for him. And, perhaps, she could understand his mood. While he was no stranger to the arm of a pretty young woman, this Rika did sound rather impressive: Puppetry was no simple stage trick, and her rank emphasised her ability. Ayako disliked her immediately.

"Nothing wrong with her?" she mimicked, smiling, "Wow, you really are smitten this time, huh.

But stop putting yourself down all the time, you're just as capable." She didn't need to mention that Junpei was often regarded as one of the more eligible bachelors of the clan. Sure, he could do with applying himself a bit more, but that wasn't a black mark against his character. So what if a man went on more dates than missions? At least he would take an interest, which was honestly more than she could say for herself. The conversation lulled, and eventually Ayako shrugged.

"Well, she's right." That grated. Bitch. "Just get to know her to start with, see where it goes. Don't overthink it like you always do. Love isn't all about rank and test scores, you know. If she's got half the sense you claim, she'll want to get to know you, not your report card." She waited for a moment to see his reaction, then shot him a smirk.

"So, when can I meet her?" She drew and began idly sharpening a senbon. Totally unrelated to the conversation, of course.

[Willoria]

Junpei snorted as Ayako called him smitten, resisting the urge to have a shove at her for it. 'She's not wrong though...' he thought to himself. 'I don't usually go for the smart ones, they just leave me feeling inadequate but she... she doesn't...' He sighed to himself quietly, turning his head to look at his sister as she went on to get on his case about putting himself down and the boy smiled in return. She never did like when he spoke ill of himself or his talents.

When Ayako mentioned his 'report card', he outright laughed. "Well that's good, because it isn't pretty!" he retorted. He finally sat up and stretched his arms up over his head, turning his head either direction to pop his neck. He didn't fail to notice that his sister was sharpening a senbon as she asked her last question and simply grinned. "Maybe when I figure out if this is a sure thing or not." he replied, smirking at her as he stood up fully finally. "Can't have you scaring her off just yet, now can I?" he teased.

Junpei stepped off the back porch, for a moment enjoying the feeling of the heat on his back and on his shoulders from the sun before turning to look at his sister. "No matter what happens, you'll never lose me, you know that don't you, little sister?"

[Valkier]

"No matter what I try, either." She muttered just loudly enough for him to hear, then rolled her eyes at him before grinning. She followed him as he rose, standing up and stretching herself; If Junpei was done slacking off then she had no excuse, either. For all the grief she gave her brother about his grades and performance, she had a similarly long road ahead of herself too, and didn't intend to fall any further behind.

"Well, maybe we can work on those grades anyway. It's still hot as hell, but that'll just push us all the harder if we're working, right?" She twisted, stretching her torso around, then hopped a few times to get her blood pumping a little. "What do you say to a going a few rounds with your little sister, then?" She hesitated and spared a glance at Junpei's waiting stack of books. "Unless you had other plans for the afternoon? I don't mind training alone."

[Willoria]

Junpei laughed at his sister's intentionally unhidden mutter. "Please, you'd be lost without me." he retorted.

He crossed his arms and leaned against a post for a moment, watching his sister stretch as she talked about working on his grades. He wrinkled up his nose in distaste at the idea. He preferred the idea of watching over his sister and helping her with her grades rather than the other way around. 'I have been slacking more lately though... focusing more on her work than my own... maybe I do need to focus better on my own shit for a little bit...' he thought to himself. His sister mentioned going a few rounds and he almost didn't catch it, suddenly looking up from where his eyes had been focused on the ground for a moment as she hinted at him having plans.

"Wish I didn't, but I am running a little behind for a meeting." he said with a sigh, frowning slightly as he looked at Ayako. "I was actually going to suggest we train today... lunch at the teahouse... and I was going to go see Rika again today. But a messenger already came by earlier. I have to go meet with some member of the Village Council, someone named Akihito." Junpei shrugged lightly as he pushed off the post and stepped closer to his sister, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Messenger was a cryptic little shit too." he added, shrugging again.

[Valkier]

Ayako paused in the middle of a mock set of punches, shooting her brother a concerned look.
"Akihito..." Her brow furrowed. "Not that withered old prune on the council? What might he wa-- What did you do now?" Her words turned accusatory, but her faced made it clear she was again only joking. Making Juni squirm never quite lost its humour. She couldn't remember much about Akihiko--besides the fact that he was in some way important to the people who cared about that sort of thing--but she supposed being called for an audience with him could only be a good thing. Perhaps Junpei would finally get some recognition for his talents?

She shrugged and hopped down the steps to the yard of their family home. "Tell me about it, the bloody messengers never just up and tell you what you need to know, do they? It could be important, though. Maybe you better wash up and go there early? Make a good impression, y'know?" She began a another stretch, bending down to push out a hamstring, but then glanced back at her brother. "Do you want me to come with? Talk you up a little? I promise I won't be too blunt. I learned my lesson last time, honest."

[Willoria]

Junpei quickly removed his hand from his sister's shoulder as she accused him of doing something wrong. With a laugh he held up both hands as if in surrender and took a couple of steps back, shaking his head. "Nothing I swear! Just my usual slacking!" he insisted, laughing still. Though he did quickly step forward and muss his sister's hair with one hand before trying to step out of her reach again, knowing he'd probably pay for that. As she made her comments about the messengers the boy laughed again and nodded quickly. "Yeah, it'd help if they just told me something of what this damn meeting is about. I don't know if I'm in trouble or not even... hell this could be boring, simple, and pointless and I'm stressing for nothing." He threw his hands up for a moment, exasperated by the entire situation.

He couldn't help it, he just had a sinking feeling that something else entirely was going on. It wasn't a good feeling either. His sister mentioned good impressions and he frowned, but she was right. If he didn't know what the meeting was about, he probably needed to be on his toes, and that meant more than jutsu. He needed to be appropriately dressed and presentable. "Sometimes I hate when you're right." he muttered under his breath, looking over at Ayako. She mentioned coming with and he snorted. "No, they made it clear, I have to come alone." he sighed before turning back towards the house. "But you're right, I should make a good impression, I'll shower and clean up..." he stopped and looked at his sister a moment. She was good at hiding it but he knew she was probably worried. "Relax, it'll be fine. I'll be back in a couple hours with probably boring news."

[Valkier]

Agh, you little..." Ayako cursed and tried to dodge the hand that messed with her hair, then shot a glare at her brother from between now-tangled bangs. "Fine! I hope it is boring, and that they keep you there for hours! Maybe i'll come after all, and tell them all about that time you almost roused our entire compound by trying to sneak in to that girl's window at night!" She crossed her arms and watched, enjoying his frustration. But her own annoyance quickly bled away once he grew serious again. Serious did not suit Junpei, and despite his reassurance, she did feel a small, but growing, twinge of concern.

"Alright, go on then, go," she shooed him back towards the door inside. "Go get ready. I've got plenty I can train by myself, anyway. But don't think you're getting away next time!" She watched him leave with a stern expression, then turned back to face their yard and continued stretching alone. As she reached down to touch her toes her eyes landed on her brother's abandoned pile of books. No doubt they'd be bleached white in the sun before the careless lout thought to come back for them. She glanced back towards the sun to gauge its position, then shrugged and, instead of going down to train her kicks, took the easier option of studying from one of Junpei's books; he always picked the most useful ones. She could do with a little more theory, and there was a lot she could still learn about--she paused, noticing the name 'Rika' doodled in a margin, with various squiggles in and around it. Were those flowers? And what was that he'd used to dot the 'i' with?

Junpei probably heard her eyes roll from the other side of the house.