After School Special

[Kabu]

In preparation for the role of teacher she would eventually take, Eiko had been sitting in on numerous academy classes, studying the teachers to see how she should handle herself, as well as taking the time to study the students themselves, making sure to memorize as many as names and faces as she possibly could.

Today in fact she had the pleasure of sitting in on a rather intriguing class with a rather... unique set of students, one trio in particular standing out to her, one of the three currently napping on her friend's shoulder, nobody seeming to make a move to stop her.

First off, there was Kyozu Jun, whom spent large amounts of class time asleep yet somehow was still able to answer questions with an ease that Eiko found to be simply baffling, having never seen such a thing in her entire history as a shinobi thus far.

And then next was the oldest in the class Arashiyama Ookurikara, a young man whom seemed talented enough that she couldn't quite understand how he was still a Genin, though she was sure that he had his reasons, could even sense something not quite right with the boy though she couldn't tell quite what it was that she was feeling.

And then came the final part of the trio, Kenshin Yasu. It was easy for Eiko to tell that she and Ookuri had a thing, though whether it had become official she couldn't know, and it was also clear to her that while the trio all seemed to be friends, Jun and Yasu seemed to be especially close, the look of the two together bringing a smile to the young Jounin's face as she remembered her own friends, some of whom she hadn't seen in quite some time. But that aside, Yasu as well seemed to be a talented young girl as well as seeming full of vitality and life, a very good thing considering what little she had been made aware of concerning her history.

Anyways, absorbed as she was in her observations she barely noticed as class came to an end, only really noticing as the students began to pile out, she waving as most of them politely said their goodbyes and went on their way.

With a yawn she got up from her seat and stretched, putting her things away and preparing to move out herself, though not before stopping herself from leaving right away as some thoughts came to mind.

"Maybe I'll go drop by the cafe before I head home since Yuuko said her mom got in some new tea leaves. Though I also have to go to the bookstore since they have my order in. And after that I need to pick up groceries. Dad is coming over so I should make something special for the occasion." she muttered to herself, not quite realizing that she was awkwardly standing next to the door as she mentally figured out everything she needed to do before heading home for the day.

[Willoria]

It took Yasu a bit longer to get out of the room than the others. Ookuri had his own things to see to, and she had to extricate herself from under Jun's napping form and wake the girl of course. She had training with her guardian Ieyasu as well, and so she shooed her friends on ahead of her and finished gathering up her things before heading for the door. At the door of course she noticed a woman who didn't appear to be all that much older than her, but from her body language she felt like she could feel that she certainly held more authority. "Do you always talk aloud to yourself?" she asked cautiously, chuckling to herself as she spoke the question. "I thought only I did that." She hugged her books to her chest and looked at Eiko a moment, smiling genuinely at the other woman.

'Nauseating.... your kindness to others is getting old fast, child, and I keep telling you that one day you will pay for it.'

'Not today.... get over it.'

[Kabu]

"Hmm? Ah, yeah... It's a habit I've picked up over the years. I find it helps me to better organize my thoughts." she responded to Yasu's questioning of her, blushing at having been caught in such an embarrassing moment. Though it seemed that her embarrassment faded just as soon as it came as the blush vanished and made way to a smile.

"Ah yes, I had almost forgotten. I am Nakajima Eiko." she said, lightly clapping her hands together as she realized that she hadn't yet introduced herself, inwardly feeling very proud for having remembered to introduce herself as a Nakajima. "And you're Yasu, correct? I was assigned to sit in on your class today as part of my training to become a full fledged teacher. And I have to say you and your friends are a very interesting bunch. I can sense that you're all very talented and will one day become great shinobi." she continued, some part of her feeling a great deal of pride towards these students even though they weren't her own. She had to wonder... if this was the kind of feeling that Hayate and her parents had had during their days teaching at the academy.

Anyways, she knew she couldn't stick around and chat for too long as she needed to get her errands done and get home before Hayate was free to leave his office. Surely he wouldn't mind if she was a few minutes late but she wanted to get home and start dinner before he arrived. And yet... some part of her felt as if it would be a good idea to spend a bit more time getting to know this girl, as if something instinctively drew her to such a conclusion.

"Say uh, I've got some errands to run. Would you care to join me? These sorts of things are always more fun with company after all."

[Willoria]

Yasu nodded as Eiko confirmed who she was, though she was still thinking over the way the woman introduced herself. As she was asked along she looked towards the door her friends had disappeared through and after a moment she simply nodded. "Sure. My friends all kinda have their own tasks right now anyway." she remarked, grinning as she moved to follow Eiko and finally she thought to bring up her question. "You said Nakajima right? Are you related to Lord Raikage?" she asked, genuinely curious, in spite of hearing Konegu's groan in the back of her mind.

'Duh child... you shouldn't spend time alone with this woman. I cannot protect you from everything, if you offend her there is no telling what she might have done to you.'

Yasu had to resist the urge to sigh, mentally rolling her eyes at Konegu. 'You're being paranoid again... we talked about this. Not everyone is a threat to me, this woman certainly isn't. She's training to be a teacher of all things.'

[Kabu]

Feeling simply delighted at her offer having been so readily accepted Eiko finished gathering up her things and whistled, her call being responded to by a sugar glider whom emerged from underneath the table and scurried up to her shoulder, curiously looking towards Yasu once he had settled in, taking a moment to sniff the girl before growing bored and curling up for a nap, the excitement of the class having made it difficult for him to get much sleep, Eiko simply chuckling at the sight.

"Ah, this little guy is Fuu. He wouldn't let me leave home without him." she explained, taking a moment to ensure he was fully settled in before moving towards the door at last, the group soon heading out on their way, Yasu bringing up the subject of her last name as they exited the room, to which she was unable to help a grin.

"Yeah, he's my adopted father, though I only recently took on his name." she responded, the grin turning into somewhat of a nostalgic smile as she recalled the day that they had met and become a family. "I think it's been five years now since he took me in. It hasn't been easy but I wouldn't trade these past few years for anything." she continued, for a moment down towards the girl walking next to her. She almost wanted to ask about the girl's appearance, particularly the spikes jutting from her shoulders, but she had grown to know much better than that. Once they knew each other a bit better she could ask, but she had a strong feeling that now really was not the time.

Luckily for her the village was coming into sight and she found herself able to relax as they passed through the gates, having been feeling a strange amount of tension all day long. "Bah, leaving the village always makes me a bit nervous. I'm really gonna have to get over that if I want to be a teacher though." she muttered to herself, shaking her head as she turned her gaze towards Yasu.

"Alright, to the bookstore first I think." she spoke, a thought coming to mind at that moment. "Say, how do you feel about books, Yasu? I have a particular fondness for romance novels myself, always have since I was a little girl."

[Willoria]

"He's so cute. I kinda wish I had a pet..." Yasu remarked as she saw the sugar glider. "I think my guardian would have a fit if I tried though." she added a laugh, picturing in her mind the way Ieyasu might react to her bringing home a pet one day, not because it was a pet, but because it would be an extra mouth to feed. She followed along with Eiko, listening quietly to the way she spoke about the Raikage and even smiling as she heard how the man had taken her in. "Sounds kinda like my guardian." she remarked, shrugging. "But, I mean he hasn't adopted me just... well, my parents lost custody of me. I'm told that what they did was abuse and all... so my guardian stepped in and I live with him now." She seemed almost hesitant to talk about it, but not because of embarrassment. It was as if she still didn't quite understand everything that happened.

She couldn't help a grin though as Eiko mentioned a bookstore. "Oh I love books. I didn't use to have much access to them, but now that I'm living with Ieyasu I have no limits set on what and how much I can study... I love it. I don't think I've ever read a romance novel though..."

[Kabu]

Eiko couldn't help but frown at the mention of Yasu having been abused by her parents. She couldn't even imagine what it was like but she hated the thought of it. Some parents had been neglecting their children right under her nose and there was likely nothing she could have done about it even had she known. It was all so very frustrating.

Luckily a distraction soon came in the form of a response to her question from just a moment ago.

"You should really give them a shot." Eiko responded with a smile. "Honestly the books I've read have had a lot of influence on me. When I was around your age I was incredibly shy and got easily nervous. I would always rely on things I had read in my books to help me interact with others. It's even really only thanks to the romance novels in particular that I've been able to keep up with my girlfriend. I love her dearly but sometimes she can be a bit much for me to handle." she chuckled as they walked along, entirely nonchalant about the revelation of her preference towards girls, though she wasn't entirely certain if the girl would catch her meaning. Though this talk did remind her of something...

"So, I noticed during my observations of the class that you seem to have some feelings towards a certain boy. Tell me... how's that going?" she asked with a sly smile, feeling curious if her observations had been totally accurate or if there was something else at hand. Though she was also feeling like being just a little bit nosy.

[Willoria]

It wasn't that Yasu missed Eiko's frown, she noticed it and remembered a conversation her and Ieyasu had had more than once already. It was still hard for her to see what happened as abuse, it had become so normal for her, but Eiko's frown was another reminder that it wasn't so normal. She was glad for the distraction as the conversation turned to books. The comment about Eiko's girlfriend didn't really affect her, Yasu was still naive to the sort of thing and her mind didn't really go anywhere with the remark, but being asked about Ookuri brought an immediate blush to Yasu's face.

"Uh...." She couldn't help the deepening blush even as she heard Konegu's disapproving mutters in the back of her mind. "Good? I guess..." she said, swallowing hard as she followed along with Eiko. "I mean, I think he likes me. I just... ugh, I've never really been allowed to spend time alone around boys but he's my teammate so we train..."

[Kabu]

"You know, you really do remind me a lot of myself when I was your age. It's strange to think about now after so many years but despite my readings I was still very naive and innocent considering matters like romance, and other related things." Eiko said with a chuckle as she recalled her own younger days, smirking as she recalled something from many years ago. "If you like him and you think he likes you then you should just tell him, or if you think he's the oblivious type you could try something a bit more bold..." she said, trailing off as she considered adding more but ultimately chose against it, choosing instead to let the girl come to her own conclusion on the matter.

Anyways, the bookstore soon came into sight, a building that while small and rather plain looking held many years of precious memories for Eiko, the woman happily smiling from ear to ear as they entered, she turning to look at Yasu once more. "I may be a minute so why don't you take a quick look around? If you see anything you like, well.. it'll be my treat. As thanks for accompanying me and putting up with my questions." she said, turning and happily walking over to the counter to discuss the topic of some books she had ordered with the woman in charge, leaving Yasu to do as she pleased for the moment. The question now was, what would the girl do with the time?

[Willoria]

Thinking about 'trying something more bold' brought a furious blush to Yasu's cheeks and she wasn't quite sure how to deal with it. Her mind felt like it was running a mile a minute and she hardly registered what Eiko told her. She suddenly reached out to touch Eiko on the elbow to get her to look at her again as a question came from her lips she hadn't fully thought about. "Is it fair to him though?" she asked rather suddenly.

She stammered a moment and cleared her throat, glancing around as a serious matter rolled around in her mind. After a moment she swallowed hard and looked over at Eiko. "I... I spoke to someone recently. He... he told me he was pretty much cursed. His mother died when he was born, and because she was a Jinch he was a cursed. His life was hell... is it... is it really fair to Ookuri for me to try and be with him if I can't... if I can't have kids...?" She didn't even think about the secrets she was revealing with her questions, but they simply came unbidden as if she'd been struggling with them herself.

[Kabu]

Eiko had to admit she was a bit stunned by the inadvertent revelation that she had been talking to a Jinchuuriki this whole time but she didn't address it, instead simply smiling as she looked at the young girl, taking her by the hand and leading her over to a nearby table where they took a seat. "Of course it is. Everyone deserves a chance to be happy, no matter what." she told her, a sad smile crossing her face. "Listen... if he really likes you then he won't care about all that. He'll accept you just as you are." she continued, pausing a moment to take a deep breath and collect her own thoughts before continuing even further.

"You know, I can't have kids either. My own mom died in childbirth and I've been made well aware that my own body is just as frail as her's. On top of that I've been very slowly going blind over time. By all accounts my girlfriend should have left me in favor of someone whose not basically a ticking time bomb but she's said she doesn't care. And every day I feel so very grateful for that."

With that she reached across the table to rest her hand on Yasu's head, smiling gently as she patted it a couple times. "You just need to have some confidence that things will be alright. I know very well how hard that can be at points but that really is the key. And I want you to know that if you ever need any help, no matter the situation, you can confide in me. Okay?" She knew that she had said a lot, some of it probably going a bit far, but she could really sense just how deeply affected Yasu was by her struggles and so she had simply wanted to help as much as she could. And she hoped that she had helped... if even just a little bit.

[Willoria]

Yasu sat down with Eiko, sighing heavily as she realized just how much she was dropping on a stranger. But she couldn't help it, she wanted someone to talk to about these things, needed someone, but her only real options were Jun who she wasn't sure would understand, Ookuri who was in the middle of her dilemma, and Ieyasu who would just tell her not to date period. She wanted something other than a simple 'no' or 'don't do it'. She wanted to know how she could have her heart's desire, to experience love, without unleashing literal hell on her village.

She fell quiet as Eiko spoke, shocked to find the woman was in a fairly similar situation in the fact that she couldn't have children. As the woman reached over and pat Yasu on the head, the girl nodded slowly and swallowed hard. "Thank you." she said quietly, chuckling to herself. "My guardian would tell me that I just shouldn't date... that it isn't worth the risk... but I shouldn't have to sacrifice every chance at happiness to this beast right?" she asked. "I thought I knew what I was getting into when I accepted this. I saw it as an escape from my parents trying to force me away from being a shinobi. Have something like this in me, they don't get to force me anywhere right? But this... I didn't know I might have to sacrifice my chance at a family."

[Kabu]

Though she didn't actually let it show in any way, some part of Eiko was feeling deeply upset at the thought of such a young girl having to go through this kind of experience as well as infuriation towards Hayate for having allowed it to happen. She resolved to talk to him about it, likely later that night over dinner, but now really wasn't the time to be worrying about it.

"Yasu, why did you so badly want to escape your parents, why did you want to become a shinobi?" Eiko asked, her face suddenly lighting up as she had an idea.

"That aside... why don't you tell me a bit more about yourself just as a person? And while we're at it I'd like to hear a bit about your friends as well. I've made my own observations but I'm very much interested in hearing more from someone who would know better than myself." she said, feeling deeply curious on both a personal and professional level. This was after all the perfect opportunity to learn more about potential students but more than that she just wanted to learn more about this young girl that she saw so much of herself in.

[Willoria]

Yasu blushed deeply as Eiko asked about her wanting to escape her parents. "I mean, not so much them entirely just their expectations." she admitted. "They were always telling me I should be happy because they're rich. Dad runs a club that is a high end restaurant and dance, mom was a professional dancer and that's what she wanted me to be." Yasu shrugged. "I never wanted any of that. I've always wanted to be a shinobi. But they held all the cards, I knew they could sabotage things... until I was offered this chance as a Jinch. Once I accepted and it was done, they had no say." She knew she was probably saying too much. Somewhere out of sight she could practically feel Ieyasu's eyes boring into her for talking so much about something that was supposed to be a secret.

It made her all the more glad when Eiko changed the subject, even though that subject made her blush. "Well Jun and I have been friends since before we were Genin. She's the one who sleeps alot? She's really smart though, I swear somehow she still hears the lessons in her sleep." Yasu shook her head, chuckling as she thought about her friend's habit of napping on her shoulder. "Ookuri is... he's a new friend." she managed to get out, blushing furiously before clearing her throat. "I still dance, when I want to, but most of what I learned from dance I use in my taijutsu now. I live with my guardian now too, Ieyasu, he's a tough teacher but he knows his stuff."

[Kabu]

"I've heard that some people can still absorb knowledge while asleep but I never would have thought it true until today. Though I must say even so, your friend Jun really does seem like a very smart girl and I can tell that while Ieyasu is very tough on you all as a teacher, he also cares for you all a very great deal. I hear that dad had even personally recommended him as a teacher and well, dad generally has pretty good judgment, even if I don't necessarily agree with all of his decisions." Eiko responded to Yasu's comments on her friends and teacher, choosing not to respond to the mention of Ookuri but instead just giving the girl a knowing smile, her brief hesitation and blush having told her all that she needed to know. Frankly it was adorable.

Though she didn't want to change topics yet again, something else the girl had said had caught her attention "So you say you've incorporated your dance lessons into your taijutsu. Is Taijutsu all you do? I'm curious about the skills you've practiced during your brief career. And after that..." Eiko couldn't help a bit of a cheeky grin as she trailed off. "Tell me, just from your experiences with me so far, what sort of skills would you say I seem to practice myself?" She knew she didn't even really seem much like a shinobi, much less a skilled Jounin, in the first place, and it was always amusing for them to realize that she could actually throw quite a punch.

[Willoria]

Yasu couldn't help a chuckle as Eiko mentioned her father recommending Ieyasu as an instructor. "He likes to act like it's all just a paycheck to him. Like money is all that matters. But that's just not true. I mean, he's stingy. Since moving in with him he still has a one bedroom house and though he gave me the bedroom and took the couch.... I don't know. He's weird about money." She shrugged and shook her head. "I came up with rich parents ya know? I don't understand what it's like to save, or pinch coppers or whatever it's called... but I know he didn't come up with much. I keep thinking maybe he can teach me about saving and I can teach him it's okay to spend... balance right?" She shrugged, in spite of Konegu's mental interruption.

'Blood money, child. I keep telling you, he will end you one day, and then you'll see. It's all blood money. He can't ever wash his hands of it.'

Yasu wrinkled up her nose a moment, shaking her head as she tried to ignore the genma within and turned her attention back to Eiko. "I mean, I know some ninjutsu and genjutsu too. But yeah, mostly I know taijutsu." she admitted, blushing suddenly as Eiko asked her to evaluate the woman before her. "I-I-I don't know, I'm no good at that." she stammered. "I wouldn't know how to evaluate someone else..."