[Social] Someone Help the Girl

[MedeaMoirae]

Hikari was trying her hardest to be polite. She was sitting at dinner at the nicest restaurant in town after all! But she was sitting there with Shoshiki Arata, a fifteen year old Genin who her mother was trying to get her to start dating. Hell her mother was already planning a wedding as soon as she would be old enough! Hikari hated it, and worst of all, Arata was a self centered bastard.

She had on her usual attire, despite her mother's insistence that she dress up. One knee was crossed over the other, her hands set neatly on the top of it, and she was looking down and to the left, staring at her chopsticks while Arata prattled on and on about his latest training.

She was bored, and she was dying to get away from this.

[Sanjuro]

Yutaka was jumping from rooftop to rooftop, carrying a bag full of supplies with Aya running just ahead of him. It was a nice night, the moon was full and shining down over the village and there was a light breeze that kept him from getting too hot with this stamina training that Aya had insisted on. By stamina training the woman meant that she had errands to run and didn’t want to carry around her own stuff so she brought along her ‘assistant’.

His stomach growled loud enough that Yutaka was positive that Aya had heard it despite the fact that she was one building ahead of him. Unfortunately, he had been absconded from his home for this task before he had had a chance to eat dinner. Now he was paying for it. Dropping to his knees, Yutaka stared up at the night sky and sighed. He was so hungry it was ridiculous. He doubted he would make it back to the compound carrying this bag full of god knows what.

“Sigh. Give it here runt. There is a restaurant just over the ways, go get something to eat. I’ll cover it.” The girl took the backpack from Yutaka and slung it over one of her shoulders. “Jeez, you’d think that when you took someone out for some quality training they would be grateful but nooo, you get whiners who would sooner give up half way than finish the job.”

Yutaka laughed at the she-devil’s tirade and waved at her when she took off over the rooftops again. He got up and jumped down onto the streets, following the few people wandering about in the hopes that he would find this magical restaurant. It didn’t take long for his nose to pick up the scent and he almost started drooling at the thought of food.

As he walked past the window of the restaurant just ahead of the door, he looked inside to see someone he really did not expect. Hikari was sitting at a table across from a boy that looked at least a few years older. Well now, was someone on a date?

[MedeaMoirae]

Arata was going on and on about his latest Garaton training, and the mission he was about to go on. "We're sanitizing the area of a street, it'll be great." he said with a cheese-eating grin.

Hikari raised an eyebrow at him and leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms over her chest. "Sanitizing the area of a street? You mean picking up trash don't you?"

Arata frowned, trying to remain undeterred. "Well it'll be f-."

"If you say picking up trash is fun, I don't care what my mother does to me, I will not go on another one of these dates." she said, looking at him in a way that dared him to say it.

Arata sighed. He changed the subject, back to his training.

Hikari rolled her eyes, and spotted Yutaka. She gave him a look that pleaded with him to help her.

[Sanjuro]

Yutaka grinned at Hikari’s facial expression and probably would have burst out laughing if he wasn’t so damn hungry. Making his way into the restaurant, he ignored the couple in favor of making his way to a nearby table and flagged down a waiter. First he would eat and then maybe, just maybe, he would take pity on Hikari and but his head in on her obviously miserable date.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a scrap of Hakushiijin that he had kept from earlier and started folding it into an origami crane. The simplest trick in the book, so to speak, but it was better than nothing while he waited for his meal. If Hikari wanted to be rescued early, then she would have to put in a little effort of her own.

[MedeaMoirae]

Hikari got up from the table, claiming she needed to use the restroom. She made her way over to Yutaka's table and sat down across from him, giving him a smile. "I don't know who I'm gonna kill first if I have to listen to him for a minute longer, me or him." she said. She glanced back to make sure Arata wasn't looking, and sure enough, he wasn't, his back was to them.

[Sanjuro]

Yutaka sniggered when Hikari made her excuses and immediately sat down at his own table. That snigger turned into barely suppressed laughter when she started her miniature rant. “Oh I don’t know. He seems like a really nice guy from here. See look, he is still talking like you never left. Practicing for when you get back, maybe?” Finishing his crane, he placed it in the middle of the table and applied just a little bit of chakra. The wings slowly flapped up and down but the paper didn’t rise from the table.

“How’s the… you know?” he asked, pointed at his own cheek to show what he meant.

[MedeaMoirae]

Hikari laughed when he mentioned Arata still talking, but turned serious when he pointed to his cheek. She gave him half a smile and a shrug in return. "It's alright... nothing I'm not used to. I shouldn't have smarted off like that in front of you and your friend, that was the biggest part of the insult to him." she said.

She watched him with the crane and the smile crept back onto her face. "That is just neat..." she said, leaning forward on her elbows on the table to get a good look at it. "I'm thinking about making a couple glass jutsu of my own... to add to what I know."

[Sanjuro]

“I’m sorry about that, really,” he muttered. He smiled though when she mentioned making her own techniques. “That sounds like a great idea. I’ve only really ‘made’ one technique on my own. That dragonfly that I used to send that message last time I saw you. I can control it as long as I keep using chakra. I want to try and make a version that can act independently, ya know?”

He poked the crane and cut off the chakra flow, watching the wings fall limp. Just in time too as the waiter showed up with a bowl of rice topped with grilled eel. Bowing his head and putting his hands together, Yutaka muttered under his breath for a minute before picking up his chopsticks. “So, what kind of techniques do you want to make? Got anything specific in mind or just a general idea?”

[MedeaMoirae]

"Well..." She smiled from ear to ear. "I'm working on a glass figurine, whether it's an animal shape or humanistic, that moves on it's own. It needs to last long enough to deliver quick messages and the like. Maybe I can get it to last longer too and use it to spy on certain places and things on missions. It would require me learning how to sculpt, but my mother already taught me enough to do an adequate job."

She glanced back at Arata and saw he still wasn't looking. She got the attention of a passing waitress. "Can you do me a huge favor? The date I came with is just unbearable. Can you tell him I had urgent news from home and had to leave suddenly?"

The waitress smiled kindly and nodded, going to give Arata the message.

[Sanjuro]

“That sounds like a pretty cool technique. Who knows, maybe you could even make bigger versions once you get the first technique down pat. Something like combat orientated sculptures. A giant glass elephant would be cool.”

Glancing over at the waitress that was delivering Hikari’s message, he smiled at the girl and pointed out a minor flaw in her plan. “You do know that if he does leave he has to walk right past this table, right?”

[MedeaMoirae]

Hikari grinned. "What flaw?" she said, just as she flawlessly slid off her seat and under the table to hide as she knew Arata would be walking by. Yutaka could probably feel her shoulder bump the inside of his knees as she hid.

Arata seemed to listen to the waitresses message, though not happily. He paid, gathered up his jacket and turned and left without a word, and without seeking Hikari.

When he was gone, Hikari slid back to her seat with a huge grin on her face. "There!" she said proudly, either not seeing, or not caring, about the looks she was getting from a couple nearby tables.

[Sanjuro]

If it was possible, Yutaka was sure that his head would explode from the amount of blood gathering in his cheeks right now. As it stood he was bright red from head to toe and a small amount of blood was slowly dripping out of his nostril. He watched the teenager disappear out the door and it took all he had not to burst out laughing. A few giggles did escape though.

When Hikari suddenly reappeared with a huge grin on her face, Yutaka dropped his head straight onto the table, making sure to avoid his precious food. Honestly, this girl mustn’t have any sense of shame. He glanced left and right without lifting his head and took note of the looks they were getting from the people at the other tables. However, his stomach rumbling overtook his sense of shame and he started eating again.

“You, Hikari,” he said between mouthfuls, “are going to be the death of me.”

[MedeaMoirae]

Hikari gave Yutaka a confused look, and was simply even more confused by how red his face was. "What do you mean?" she asked, with half a smile.

She glanced out the window and was satisfied to see that Arata was leaving. "I'm sure I'll catch hell for that later, but it's better than what he was putting me through." she said, turning her attention to Yutaka again. "So how long do you have? You want to do something?"

[Sanjuro]

Honestly, was this girl really that naïve? The confused look in her eyes told Yutaka that yes, yes she was. And then that cute little half smile had the black haired boy blushing again before he looked down and picked up his chopsticks once more.

Biting off a bit of his grilled eel, both because he was hungry and to try and focus on something other than his blush, Yutaka contemplated the question as he chewed. With Aya having taken the supplies back, he didn’t have anything special planned back at the compound. Swallowing his food, the boy replied “I suppose I’ve got time. Got anything special in mind?”

[MedeaMoirae]

Hikari's smile turned to what looked to be almost an evil grin. Fact was she was simply excited at the idea. "Well.... can it be a surprise?" she asked. She looked at him almost sheepishly, likely on her way to a puppy-dog pout, fact was she didn't want to outright say it because she wasn't entirely sure he'd agree to it.

[Sanjuro]

With a long suffering sigh, Yutaka hung his head in mock sadness and raised his hands in a sign of surrender. “Fine, fine, it can be a surprise,” he muttered and a slight grin. Raising his index finger he indicated for the girl to wait for a few moments. He quickly went about devouring his meal, having stalled long enough. Despite the fact he was wolfing the food down faster than he could realistically chew, Yutaka somehow managed to avoid making a mess of himself.

Placing the bowl down and the chopsticks over it, Yutaka clapped his hands together and bowed his head before leaning back and patting his stomach. The beast was satiated for now. Arching an eyebrow towards Hikari, he motioned for the girl to lead the way.

[MedeaMoirae]

Hikari couldn't help but shake her head as he wolfed down his food, but she was all too thrilled when he said he was done and motioned for her to lead the way. She jumped up and grabbed him by the hand, just as before, and took off with him in tow (hopefully). She turned almost immediately as they left the restaurant. Night had fallen and there was a dance club up the road. Unfortunately they had a rule about the age of their patrons.

Which was why about two blocks before they got there, Hikari turned down an alleyway so that they would come up behind the building.

[Sanjuro]

Yutaka laughed as once again he was being dragged along by the seemingly ever-energetic Shoshiki Hikari. The evening breeze stung his nostrils as he jogged to keep in line with the shorter girl as they weaved in and out of the customers coming and going from the restaurant. It was the sudden sharp turn into a darkened alley that had Yutaka starting to worry. What exactly did this girl have in mind?

The pair continued on for another short jog where they started to slow as loud music filled Yutaka’s ears. Blue eyes widening, he came to a complete stop and stared at Hikari with a horrified visage. “Oh no, no way! I am not going in there!”

[MedeaMoirae]

Hikari turned to face him. This was exactly what she was afraid of. She kept a hold of his hand as she pouted at home. "Oh come one, please!! It's so much fun, and I can't ever get anyone to go with me. Please, please please!" she begged. By time she was done with her final 'please' she wasn't just holding his hand, she had wrapped her arms around his one, hugging it to her as she continued to beg him to go in with her.

Her chin was resting on his shoulder now as she pouted at him, standing on her tip-toes to make up for the one foot difference in height between the two.

[Sanjuro]

A shiver ran down his spine at the doe eyed look he was getting from Hikari. He had been the victim of that look several times before from his younger sisters but never had the effect been so immediate. Clamping his eyes shut he tried to avoid the stare. Then came the begging, again Yutaka tried as hard as he could to resist. He would have likely succeeded too if not for the fact that somewhere along the line the girl had snaked her way around his arm and was now digging her chin into his shoulder.

Blood rushed to his cheeks and his ears reddened as well. In fact, if it were possible, he was pretty sure he would be letting off steam with how fast his blood was pumping right now. Tensely, not willing to open his mouth for fear of saying something incredibly garbled and stupid, Yutaka nodded his acceptance.

[MedeaMoirae]

Hikari squealed in delight and excitement, finally releasing her hold on his arm and jumping up and down a couple of times. "Yay! Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!" She turned and led the way to the back of the building and the back door, which was supposed to be locked.

Hikari gave it a soft push and it opened. She'd done this before. She slipped through the door and waited for Yutaka to follow.

[Sanjuro]

He sighed in relief when Hikari let go and laughed it off when she started with her quick-fire ‘Thank You’s. When she turned to make her way to the rear entrance to the dance club, he shook himself off and slapped his cheeks a few times to clear his head of the cloud that had temporarily overcome his senses. Had he really just agreed to go in to a dance club?

At Hikari’s expectant look, Yutaka resigned himself to his fate and followed the path the girl had taken and went in through the open door. Immediately the volume level of the music tripled and his head was pounding in seconds. This, this was why he didn’t want to come in here. That and he did not want to dance. If there was one thing that he absolutely refused to do, it was dance.

Somehow he got the feeling that his limits would be put to the test tonight. It may come down to a battle between his tenacity and Hikari’s persistence. He had a really, really bad feeling about that particular struggle. “So then, Hikari, which way?” He asked as he turned to the girl, offering his elbow to avoid being ruthlessly dragged off again.

[MedeaMoirae]

Hikari grinned and took the offered elbow, leading the way down a long hallway. At one point they could hear sounds from a kitchen but Hikari turned away from it. Last time she'd tried to go through the kitchen she'd been caught and it ended rather ugly.

The hallway narrowed quickly and Hikari had to let go of Yutaka's arm and lead the way. It was some kind of access for repairs and the music was much louder here. They finally got to a small door and Hikari led the way through it. It emptied out right onto the dancefloor, and Hikari grinned at Yutaka.

[Sanjuro]

As the music grew in volume, so did Yutaka’s dread. When the couple spilled out onto the dance floor, surrounded by dancing teenagers and adults alike he couldn’t help but whimper in horror at his unfortunate fate. Hikari’s grinning face made the boy soften up though and he smiled softly at her, motioning that she should join the fray. He himself was quite comfortable leaning up against the doorframe, arms folded and barely swaying to the beat in the typical male fashion.

Of course he knew he wouldn’t last very long standing still doing nothing. It was worth a shot though, right?

[MedeaMoirae]

At first Hikari started dancing on her own, hands over her head, hips moving with the beat. But then she noticed Yutaka was just leaning against the wall. She crossed her arms in front of her and walked over to him so that she was standing directly in front of him. "You know, you can dance with me, or I can use you as a pole." she said with a mischievous grin on her face. Fact was it was something she'd heard older kunoichi say to male friends and boyfriends unwilling to dance. She didn't entirely know the implications behind it, she just knew it usually worked.

[Sanjuro]

The line repeated over and over again in his head. He may have been a social outcast but he was still a male, and he still picked up a few things over the years between the older clan members and the Academy. Blank look on his face, Yutaka seemed to function on auto pilot as he put an arm out and let himself be dragged by Hikari out on to the dance floor. He was wrong. His limits had not been put to the test. His limits had been stepped on, shattered, and brushed aside in a single sentence.

[MedeaMoirae]

Hikari smiled genuinely and led him to the dancefloor, dancing with him for several moments. It wasn't the dance of some tramp though as her previous comment might've hinted at. After all, Hikari was still just a naiive girl who had fun dancing.

She didn't notice that as she danced, not far from them, a bouncer had taken notice of the two of them.

[Sanjuro]

The sudden feeling of someone walking over his grave snapped Yutaka out of his shock as he swayed with Hikari. Blinking a few times, he looked around as if he didn’t realize where he was when he noticed the large figure looming over the couple. Big burly muscles and heavily tanned skin were Yutaka’s first warning. The second was the forehead protector strapped around his arm, barely being held in place by a knot in the back his bicep was so thick. Third and final was the fact that the man was wearing sunglasses at night and indoors.

“Ehehehe, hi?” Yutaka said, laughing nervously at the man. Oh he had a bad feeling about this.

[MedeaMoirae]

Hikari stopped and looked up, giving him an all-too-sweet smile as he loomed over them. "Hello." She didn't have any glass on her, what she really wanted was a mirror but she couldn't make one without him noticing.

"How old are you two?" the surly man asked.

'His sunglasses... they're treated... perfect.' Hikari's sweet smile turned to an evil grin as she quickly strung together a few hand seals.

The man suddenly turned to look behind him.

Hikari grabbed onto Yutaka's hand again and led him away in a hurry, back through the maintenance entrance they had used to get in.

JutsuShow

~[Glass Element • Approaching Reflection]
D-Rank Genjutsu
After forming the needed hand seals and allowing the opponent to look into a mirror, the opponent will see the user in the reflection, coming from behind. This can potentially distract the opponent, and lasts for up to 2 posts.

[Sanjuro]

The pair ran down the cramped corridor. Yutaka wasn’t sure why the bouncer had gotten distracted but he was glad for it. Maybe Hikari was a genjutsu user of some kind? That didn’t matter right now though, all that mattered was the fact that they were safe for now because no way could a guy that size fit through a maintenance area this size. As the pair left the maintenance tunnel he ran slightly ahead of Hikari, retracing his earlier footsteps and slamming through the door into the back alley.

Coming to a halt, his hands dropped to his knees and the entire situation finally got to him. Looking back towards Hikari he suddenly started laughing. Long and loud, he wouldn’t be surprised if it overtook the music somehow. “Oh gosh,” he said between laughs, “you sure know how to show a guy a good time, Hikari.”

[MedeaMoirae]

Hikari was laughing too, and trying to catch her breath, an impossible combination. Once she managed to actually breathe again she smiled at Yutaka. "Sorry about that. Usually they don't catch me that quick. Fortunately for us, Genjutsu is not his forte huh?" she said, still laughing.

She turned and started walking down the alley, going a couple of blocks before turning back onto the main road. She looked over at Yutaka with a grin. "So what do you want to know next?"

[Sanjuro]

Yutaka stared at the girl for a good long minute, completely silent, before bursting out laughing again. There was still more with this girl? The boy shook his head and threw an arm around the shorter girl’s shoulders. “Well, I’m sure we can find something to do,” he said with lopsided grin. It wasn’t often that he left the compound for longer than an hour to run errands so he was going to enjoy his freedom.

Leading Hikari down the main road, his eyes trailed from left to right in search of something to do. Surely there was something entertaining to do that didn’t involve being over sixteen.

[MedeaMoirae]

Hikari found herself blushing up to her ears when he put his arm around her shoulders, but it wasn't long before long she was looking around, trying to find something to do. She noticed one of the stands was still open and pointed it out. "They have really good fried ice cream if you're interested." she said, her usual smile having returned.

She was noticing that while some places were closing, others weren't. Some of the actual stores were staying open. "Oh, did you enjoy that book by the way?"

[Sanjuro]

“Fried ice cream sounds good to me,” Yutaka declared and steered the pair towards the small stand. Ordering two single serves, he sat down and smiled at Hikari. “Yeah, it was great. I actually started painting a few things at home. Nothing fancy like a big landscape or portrait, just painting a few of my origami creations.” He summoned up a piece of paper and started folding it; something that had become habit over the years. “What about you, any headway on the dancing taijutsu?”

[MedeaMoirae]

Hikari wrinkled her nose. "No, not yet. My mother has been on my case more than usual. Ever since.... well ever since we went to the book store. She has me learning the "wifely duties" as she calls them. Cooking, cleaning, things like that. And constantly trying to get me to spend time around Arata, even making me train with him. I haven't had much time to myself."

When the ice cream came, Hikari grinned as she picked up her spoon and with a snap of her wrist and the sound of a 'crack' she broke the shell, taking a nibble of the crusty goodness before getting to the icecream at the center.

[Sanjuro]

“Ah, so it was your mother that had you out with the fine young Arata this evening,” Yutaka said as he dug into his own ice cream. “I had a feeling. Well at least one good thing came of it, no?” He grinned at Hikari before devouring more of his ice cream. He had only ever had it a few times in his life but each time he was reminded of how amazing food was. If it wasn’t for the fact he was a ninja and had to balance his diet, Yutaka was sure he would spend most of his time sampling different foods. “So, cooking huh? Are you going to cook me something one of these days? Here’s hoping you don’t poison me by accident.”

[MedeaMoirae]

Hikari laughed. "Only thing I can cook right now is ramen. But I think my parents, and probably yours, would have our hides if I tried to make you a meal." she said with a laugh.

She happily enjoyed her ice cream for a few moments, before looking up and realizing her brother, Daisuke, was walking down the road, looking around. "Good thing we're not in direct sight." she said with a laugh.

[Sanjuro]

Yutaka laughed and nodded at her assumption. Clan members should only ever fraternize with other clan members. While his parents typically avoided the politics of the Genkouyoushi, that was one that they actually stuck by. It was supposedly dangerous to get too close to people outside of the clan. Yutaka glanced in the same direction that Hikari had been looking and saw Daisuke walking down the main road. “I think your brother figured out you ditched your date.”

[MedeaMoirae]

Hikari chuckled. "Arata probably went straight to him. I'll give him that much, I may not like him, but at least he doesn't go straight to my parents, he goes to my brother." She glanced back and saw her brother was checking inside open shops and she sighed. "No sense delaying the inevitable." she muttered, waving a hand at her brother.

Daisuke saw his sister and walked over. He wasn't moving fast as if angry, was simply walking. He sat down by his sister, giving her a look and glancing at her company before motioning to the server for his own icecream. "Now I know why you ditched Arata."

Hikari chuckled. "Didn't need a reason."

"Uh huh."

[Sanjuro]

“Heh, sorry about this Daisuke-san. I was just catching up, that’s all,” he muttered as he bowed his head in apology. Yutaka looked back towards his icecream and finished the final morsel, returning to his half-folded piece of paper. “I should probably be off soon anyway, I am sure mother is worrying about me,” Yutaka said, all the while folding the paper again and again. Unlike his ninjutsu, Yutaka wasn’t folding the paper with his chakra but by hand. Soon enough the paper took the form of a small flower.