[Graded][Closed] Chance Encounter

[Niro]

Tei, Yoshinori acted far older than his 14 years. His face was devoid of emotion as he walked slowly through the streets of Konohagakure no Sato, his hands shoved into his pockets as he avoided civilians passing him by as they shopped in one of the many open markets spread throughout the village. Today was one of those days where it felt like nothing truly mattered to him, like most days. But this one WAS special, even though the event was horrible. Today was the anniversary of the infamous Konoha Invasion. Since his graduation and lightning fast promotion to chuunin, the young teen had slowed down. His mother had been worried he was trying too hard and advancing too fast, that the pressure and stress he was placing on himself to succeed was becoming a negative rather than a positive.

So he decided it may be time to clear his head a little bit.

The young chuunin wandered up to one of the flower stalls, a cute Yamanaka girl behind the stall counter who flashed him a smile as he browsed.

"Is there anything I can help you find?"

"Carnations, white. Oh, a sunflower as well please." Yoshinori muttered out as he browsed the flowers on hand as the girl nodded and fetched the correct flowers. She had an idea of what they were for as she prepared them and put them in a small bouquet with the sunflower in the middle surrounded by a handful of white carnations.

Yoshinori fished out the required payment before he took the goods and nodded to the girl in thanks. She flashed him another smile and a wave as he left the market area and began making his trek through the village towards an area solemnly visited, even on a day such as today. He held the flowers gently in his hands as he began to climb the stairs up to the top of the memorial site, his mind wandering absently to thoughts of happier times as he finally came to an end at the large marble stone with the names of all the villagers killed in the attack. His eyes scanned the marble slowly, taking in each name for a moment before letting out a brief sigh.

Little did he realize the young woman standing but a few feet away from him and doing something similar.

[Willoria]

She hadn't been there long. Hanako had spent so much time lately helping Aina with the twins that she might've forgotten what day it was, except you know, she really couldn't. It was the day her world had been shattered, and though Aina and Takeo had managed to piece so much back together for the young Hyuuga, it was still so very hard for the girl. She would never forget her real parents, or the older brother who died to save her. In her left hand was a small bag, and a single rose, her right was up and fingering a small necklace that she had received from her brother not even days before his death. When she first arrived she could feel her breath catch in her chest, tears already threatening to spill as she stood there staring at the names. After several moments of silence, she moved to sit with her back against the wall, turning so the side of her forehead rested against the cool marble and she closed her eyes as she lay the rose down at it. "I have a team again." she whispered to the stone.

She took something out of her small bag, a bento box, which she set before her and opened to reveal a couple of rice cakes and some sushi, sighing quietly. "Honestly they drive me crazy, Oniisan." she whispered. "Jin has a crush on me and the girl is no better. Niku is so boy crazy she can't see straight..." she sighed again and shook her head. "How am I supposed to get stronger with people like this around me? They aren't thinking about being shinobi... just romance..." She felt a shift on her left hip and suddenly felt a pang of guilt. "Oh! Sorry, Jun." she said, slightly flustered as she pulled the small cat from her pouch and set him in front of her. The little cheetah gave her a rather grumpy look before sniffing at her bento box, which of course she shoved him away from. "No, thats not for you." she told him. "You know its for me and Oniisan."

[Niro]

Yoshinori was broken out of his stupor by the quiet sigh and words of another at the stone. He shouldn't have been surprised, he should've expected there to be other people besides himself here on this day. His focus wavered from the marble as he watched the girl a few feet away from him pull out a bento box. The very sight of it made his stomach release a low growl and his face morphed into one of confusion.

'Guess I forgot to eat this morning.' The chuunin thought to himself as his attention was kept on the girl. His eyes widened in surprise for a moment when she pulled a small big cat from her bag before he blinked and returned his gaze to the marble. Several of these names he had seen before in years past but each year he did his best to try and carve those names into his mind. They were the people his father had died trying to protect, after all. If there was one thing he could do, he'd try his damnedest to make sure they were remembered. Another growl rocked his stomach and this time it brought forth a small blush to his cheeks before it vanished.

His head turned and he stared down the bento box, thoughts of lunch and what he should get filling his mind. Yoshinori's empty blue eyes looked at the bento box and if the girl dared to meet his eyes with her own, she'd see that they were empty and devoid of feeling, like a broken man who had no hope for himself or the future he was doomed to experience.

Slowly his thoughts shifted away from the bento box and towards the matter at hand.

"Oh right, they don't keep his body here. Something about security being too low..." Yoshinori mumbled though if one was careful they'd be able to make out the words with no problem.

[Willoria]

As Hanako's conversation with her older brother continued, Jun stretched and yawned, the silver-maned cub looking around and blinking a moment before settling his gaze on the other person at the memorial. He got up and padded slowly over to the boy, the cub was normally very shy but it seemed this one smelled different. Yet as he sniffed he realized what he smelled. Dog or wolf the young cub couldn't sort out and a moment later his back arched and he hissed, and that was when Hanako saw him. "Jun! Stop it!" she said almost quietly, reaching out and snatching the small cat up by the scruff of his neck as he murred in annoyance. She set him aside and looked up at Yoshinori briefly. She blushed as she realized her cheeks were wet and quickly wiped the tears away with the back of her hand.

She had noticed his gaze, the emptiness of his eyes, but most of all that he had been looking at the bento box. After a brief moment she smiled slightly, albeit sadly, and picked up the box, holding it up towards Yoshinori. "Rice cake?" she offered quietly, shrugging towards the stone beside her. "I don't think he's going to eat his half." she added, still smiling sadly. She'd wait to see if he'd take it before setting the box aside and looking at the wall once more.

Jun had calmed down and curled up on Hanako's lap as the girl pet him, and spoke once more to the boy beside her she didn't know. "Who did you lose?"

[Niro]

Yoshinori's gaze shifted downwards to the young cub who began to sniff him and then recoiled as if he was a do- oh right, Kazuo and Koji. Those two stunk of the stench and it probably stuck to him at this point. The two Inuzuka had been part of a handful of people to help raise him and it made much sense he smelled of the nindogs. He titled his head to the right as he looked at the cub before a small smile spread across his face. If one cared to actually look at his body language and face, they'd notice that although he was smiling there was no happiness, sadness, or any emotion behind it. He smiled as if it was something he rehearsed.

The girls offer of a rice cake was something that completely took Yoshinori by surprise and it showed on his face as his eyes grew wide and a small bit of light shone in the back of them. He hadn't intended to stare her down and press her into offering him one but he nodded his head. "Thank you." He responded to the girl before he began to nibble on the morsel. "This is quite good, did you make this?"

The conversation shifted to those they had loss and any semblance of happiness in Yoshinori's face left. "I lost my father...well, I didn't even get to meet him before he was lost. The rest of the village probably knew him better than I did..." Yoshinori replied, his voice low and his eyes distant as if he was trying his best to remember memories from a long time ago.

"What about you? Who did you lose?"

[Willoria]

Hanako nodded as she set the bento box down and picked up her own rice cake, motioning to let Yoshinori know that she wouldn't mind him sitting beside her. "My mother... well, my adopted mother, taught me how to cook." she admitted. "She's really good... kinda a stickler about eating well, so I don't always get to make these as sweet as I like." she added, grinning suddenly. "But she's off on a mission right now, so no one was there to stop me." she boasted, grinning happily before her eyes returned to her own food and she took a bite. She didn't seem to notice, or at least didn't stop him, as Jun moved for one of the pieces of sushi, quickly slurping down a piece of fish.

She could understand the look in his eyes suddenly, as he told her he had lost his father. "I uh... I lost my parents. And my brother." she admitted, blushing lightly as she glanced at the wall of names, reaching out to touch her brother's name briefly. "Our house collapsed... My parents were killed in the collapse. My brother dug through the rubble to get me out, but to do it he had to crawl in and..." she shook her head, drawing in a shaking breath. "He got me out, but shifting the rubble caused another collapse." she admitted, clearing her throat as tears came to her eyes once more.

"I was adopted by another in our clan... so I have a family again, but... its not the same." She reached up and touched the gold chain on her neck, and the small heart locket there that her brother had given her before looking at Yoshinori. "I'm Hyuuga Hanako." she said, introducing herself finally. "Have we met? You look really familiar...."

[Niro]

Yoshinori listened carefully as he sat down next to the Hyuuga girl and she told him her story as he nibbled on the rice cake in hand. He winced as she told him how she lost her parents to the collapse and then her brother as well in an attempt to save her. The young man could only hope in his head that she did not blame herself for his decision. A thought like that could eat a person alive from the inside out and no one, besides those who were truly scrum, deserved to have those kinds of thoughts plaguing them for the rest of their lives.

"My mother usually has the maids do the cooking at this point. She's grown weaker over the years...the doctors say it's a case of heartbreak. The loss of father struck her so hard it's affected even her physical health. She does try and clean, however, as a form of getting around and getting some exercise in, no matter how minute." Yoshinori explained after he finished a bite.

The same emotionless smile overcame Yoshinori's face again as she mentioned being adopted by another family within the clan. He was glad for her, it meant she would never be alone as long as she had the clan. The thoughts of himself being alone attempted to assault him but with the girl and her companion besides him, they were harmlessly redirected and forgotten.

"I don't think we have met. I...try my best to keep to myself. Do what I can and don't ask for any thanks or recognition. My name is Tei, Yoshinori. It is nice to meet you Hanako-san." Yoshinori commented as he began to near the end of his rice cake.

[Willoria]

"I can imagine how it must eat at her..." Hanako admitted, looking down a moment before setting her rice cake back in the bento box. "Just as I know how it must eat at you." she added, lifting her eyes to look at Yoshinori a moment. "I keep hoping it gets easier but..." Her words trailed off as she brought her hands up again and opened her locket, looking into it with a small smile for a moment. A moment later she shifted and moved the bento box so she could sit directly next to Yoshinori and tried to show him the locket without removing the chain from her neck. "That's my brother." she told him, pointing to one of the tiny pictures. The boy in it was smiling, clearly only sixteen or seventeen at the time the photo had been taken.

As he told her who he was, she could swear she had seen him before, but it was his family name that made her realize why he seemed familiar. An image flashed in her mind of a picture in her mother's training room, of a much younger and still pierced Hyuuga girl with a man who had been decently taller than her at the time. "Oh my god!" Hanako suddenly exclaimed, staring at Yoshinori for a moment. "You look just like him." she whispered in shock, blushing as she realized how rude she was being. "You're... Tei Kawa's son, right?" she asked carefully, silently hoping he wouldn't be more upset as she came to realize who he was.

"My adopted mother has a picture in her training room, of her with your father. He was her mentor or something... told me a story about how he chucked her out a window when he made her his assistant or something. Her name is Hyuuga Aina." The girl couldn't help a grin, despite the tears still wet on her cheeks as she reached out and put her hands on Yoshinori's shoulders. "Heh. We're practically family!" she proclaimed, suddenly hugging him, feeling an odd kind of relief wash over herself.

[Niro]

Yoshinori shifted his vision from staring out in front of him to looking at the locket as Hanako scooted closer to him. He studied the picture intently for a moment, trying to also memorize the faces of those who had lost their lives in the invasion. "He looks like...a cool guy. Someone who'd do anything for their loved ones." Yoshinori commented before the sudden realization of who he was struck the girl besides him.

The outburst took him by surprise for a moment before a noticeably sad smile graced his features. As she raved on about who he looked like who his father was, all of the pictures in the living room of his home ran through his head. His father by himself, with Shikari, with members of Mamorinuku, and other members of the shinobi corps. The young chuunin had plenty of pictures of the man but no memories and that was what he longed for most. "Yes, Tei, Kawa was my father. My mother was pregnant with me, about 8 months in, when he was killed. The shock and hurt forced her into premature labor although I came out with no issues, luckily." The sad smile continued to stay on his face with his right eye, the eye Hanako would have difficulty seeing, leaking out a single tear before he quickly wiped it away on his shirt sleeve.

The hugging was something he was completely unprepared for, his face transforming into a visage of confusion as the girl wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him close. Yoshinori did his best to ignore the breasts pressing against him before he was pulled back to reality by her previous words.

"Ah, I have the same picture in the living room." Yoshinori mumbled as he tried to recall the picture. "Maybe one day you could introduce me to her and she could maybe share some of the memories she has of him."

[Willoria]

Hanako hugged the boy for several moments before she finally let him go and leaned back, tears oddly streaming down her face as she nodded furiously. "The one she talks about a lot is the window. Um... I think she said it was a third story window or higher he threw her out of.." she shook her head, chuckling. "She says to this day she has no idea why he did it." She blushed furiously and reached up to wipe away the tears on her cheeks with the backs of her hands. "I'm sorry... I'm being kinda weird I guess." she admitted, suddenly shifting and backing up from him a few inches.

She suddenly remembered something about Kawa however that wasn't a happy memory, or rather the fact that she had overheard a fight between her adopted parents recently. Her expression shifted and the girl kept it to herself, remembering how angry Takeo had gotten with Aina for even bringing up the man's name in the fight... and the way Aina had broken down after. She hadn't seen it, knowing full well she'd be seen if she had tried to look, but the sound of Aina breaking down as Takeo had tried to comfort her wasn't a good memory. The Bannin was strong, and other than anger it was the first time Hanako had really seen such emotion from the woman since her adoption.

She was struggling to find a subject change as she realized the awkward silence that had fallen over the pair, but she couldn't think of one. Thankfully one presented itself as she looked over and realized Jun was sitting there with a book in his mouth. "Hey give me that back!" She hissed at him, reaching for the book but the feline danced out of reach with the small braille book still in his mouth, tail twitching as if he thought he was playing.

[Niro]

Yoshinori's sad smile shifted back into that same empty smile he had given multiple times earlier to the girl as she recalled a story her own mother had told her about his father. "Mother did tell me he was quite a prankster in his youth, especially when he was around people who he truly cared for. She also told me some of the terrible things he did as a shinobi, for the village...and for her. They apparently met on a series of missions in which he was apart of a bodyguard detail for her along with Shikari-obaasan. She got kidnapped and well...things became very violent very quickly." Yoshinori figured if she told him one story about his father, he would tell her one as well. One that he knew well.

To her the hug and silence may have seemed weird but to Yoshinori it felt no more different than a walk down the street. He was used to the silence and had learned to love the absence of noise, preferring it to the bustling streets and alleys of Konoha. If permitted, the young man could go the entire day without having to speak to people or listen to a sound. Him talking so much to Hanako was a nice change of pace for the usually stoic and reserved teen.

Yoshinori's head snapped in the direction of the cub, a quizzical look on his face as he noticed the braille on the front cover and spine of the book. "Braille? Why would you possess a book such as that, Hanako-san?" Yoshinori asked as he watched the small spat between animal and owner.

[Willoria]

The little fight between cub and Hanako went on for several moments. The young cheetah was surprisingly strong and still rather wild considering his beginnings, and as such it took more than just coaxing to get the book from his mouth. Eventually Hanako had to snatch the animal up by the scruff of his neck and force his jaw open to get it. She still got a small cut to her finger for her troubles and she set the animal down on her lap with a huff of frustration before running a hand over the braille book now in her hands. As Yoshinori asked her about it, the girl blushed furiously.

"I... I was blind." she admitted quietly, her eyes still focused on the book as if she was afraid to look up and see Yoshinori's reaction. "In the collapse, before my brother got to me, part of my face was damaged. I was blind for a long time after that, and had to learn to read braille. When Aina adopted me I was still blind, she's the one who got me the lessons and helped me to find my way around again." She sighed and shrugged. "It's why I'm still a genin. I only regained my sight because a missing ninja was killed who happened to be of my clan... and that hunter who took him down made sure to preserve the eyes. They were transplanted and I finally got a chance to be a shinobi." Truth be told, talking about the loss of her sight again caused a shiver to run down Hanako's spine. Every time she talked about the collapse it was like she could feel it again. The stone and wood pressing against her face, what it felt like when her eyes were decimated, the blood and fluid running down her face. It left her feeling sick.

That blush was still persistent on her cheeks as she finally looked at Yoshinori and tucked the book away in a pocket. "I keep up the skill, being able to read in braille. So if things every go completely sideways and I lose my sight again, at least I won't be lost again. It was the worst feeling."

[Niro]

Yoshinori listened intently to Hanako although his eyes were locked onto the cheetah cub as the two struggled and pulled each other back and forth. Is this what it was like to have pets? Yoshinori had no clue as his house had no such animals. The only animal his residence saw frequently was Koji and daring to call him a pet was tantamount to signing your own suicide note.

The young chuunin made a mental note of how the mood changed when she began talking about the incident and how she lost her sight from it. He was glad there were people who had looked out for her after the accident and Invasion, glad that she had continued to live on after in general. "You're very brave...most people who would've experienced what you did would had given up living entirely." Yoshinori finally spoke after what seemed like forever in his head. Being opened up to something so personal and traumatic was something he had not been expecting today, though he should've. Whether it be his own personal issues or another's, days like today did that to people.

Yoshinori ran his fingers along the bouquet of flowers he had placed on the opposite side of his body when he had sat down. "I think I should go place these in their spot now..." Yoshinori spoke in a low tone, the talking and reminiscing about her own loss had been making him itch to confront his own for the day.

[Willoria]

"Thank you." Hanako replied almost shyly. Honestly she didn't feel like she'd really done anything. Someone else had retrieved the eyes, had implanted them, before then Aina had told her she would help her train and learn how to be a shinobi without sight and Hanako had rebelled against it hard. In a clan defined by their eyes, Hanako had refused to consider shinobi life without them. Then the transplant had come, though things had become easier since to continue on and not just because she had eyes again. A small smile came to her lips. "I have to continue." she admitted. "I'm the older sibling now... Aina had twins, my little sister and little brother need me... just like I needed my older brother. So its my turn now, right?" It wasn't a question she expected an answer to, but she looked at Yoshinori all the same and simply smiled, watching him fidget almost in a way that she saw as awkward.

He reached over and touched the flowers he had brought and suddenly Hanako put the bento box away in her bag and stood. She picked up Jun and put him in his pouch, the small cheetah sticking his head out of it and huffing in annoyance though he did not try to escape. Hanako reached out a hand in an offer to help Yoshinori up now. "I could come with you, if you like?" she asked carefully. She knew some people preferred to be alone in these moments, but she couldn't help but think she saw something in his eyes, someone who had been alone in these moments all too much. "After all, you were with me while I spoke to my brother." she added.

[Niro]

Yoshinori blinked his eyes in confusion as the girl stood up and placed the small cub in her bag. The small thing had attitude, that was for sure. It shoved its tiny head out of the opening and into the outside world so that it could still observe what was going on. Another set of blinks emanated from the young man's eyes as she offered him her hand to help him up. With one hand he grasped the bouquet and with the other he helped himself up, his rough hand clasping softly against her much fairer skin than his own. "Thank you." He offered as he rose to his feet and then dusted off his bottom from any debris he may have picked up as a straggler while sitting down.

"I'd...like that. It gets quite lonely visiting his grave by myself. There's usually a handful of guards posted outside of the grave but by now they know me and my relationship to him well enough they don't even ask. Hopefully they don't get too nosy when they see you as well..." Yoshinori pondered for a moment before brushing the thought away. The guards knew he'd never bring someone who'd abuse his father's body into the grave, her being a Hyuuga only led more fact to that thought line.

Yoshinori turned towards another set of stairs located left off to the side of the major memorial stone before beginning his walk towards the grave site with Hanako at his side. This would be the first time anyone would accompany him to the grave, even his mother had neglected to visit with him for her own personal reasons.

The duo walked in mostly silence as they came upon a mausoleum with two guards in the standard Konoha chuunin attire standing guard at the opening. Above the door frame leading to the inside of the building was a name emblazoned within the stone.

Tei, Kawa

With a deep sigh, Yoshinori opened the door and stepped into the mausoleum. The inside of the structure was lit with several torches lining the walls in a ring with a large stone coffin resting in the middle of the building. A large picture of him had been blown up on the far side wall, his wide and wild smile prominently featured.

"Hello, father. It's been a few months since I lasted visited..." Yoshinori muttered out loud as he moved deeper into the chamber before stopping at the foot of the coffin. The young chuunin knelt down before placing the bouquet on the stoop of the coffin. He stayed crouched for a moment, his head hung low as he closed his eyes and tried his best to keep his emotions in check, especially around his visitor.

[Willoria]

Hanako smiled happily as Yoshinori agreed to let her come with him. Once he was standing she released his hand, but turned and walked alongside him as they moved away from the memorial and towards his father's grave. They walked in general silence, or at least Hanako didn't speak up. She could feel the weight of it, just as she saw it in his eyes, the weight of his grief. As they got close she gave a small smile to the guards who barely gave the pair a glance. Inside the mosoleum she remained silent, following Yoshi's lead. As he spoke and his voice dropped away she realized how hard this was on him still. As he knelt, so she knelt beside him and waited.

When he didn't speak, she looked at him a moment, almost seeing as he struggled to keep his composure. She reached a hand over and slipped her fingers into his, intertwining their fingers. Attempting to give him a reassuring smile she touched her forehead to his shoulder briefly and turned her eyes to the grave before them.

"Kawa-Sama," she began in a whisper. "You don't know me, but I just met your son today. My mother knew you, she still misses you. Takeo too. He doesn't speak of you as often, but I know he misses you too." She sighed and looked over at Yoshi. "I'm Hanako. I think you'd be proud. Your son is kind. He cares about the people you saved. He visits them. I think hes strong. I just wish one thing." She couldn't help a bit of a smile as she watched Yoshi. "I wish I could see him smile, for real, just once. Think you could make him?" There was humor in her voice, not a joke of course but a humor she thought the Bannin would have appreciated from what little she knew of him.

She leaned against Yoshi as she fell quiet again, forehead resting on his shoulder. "Tell him whatever you want." She whispered. "I promise, he's listening. Just like my brother does."

[Niro]

Yoshinori did not even realize that Hanako had taken a place next to him bowing, he was too busy inside his own head to react to outside stimuli at this point. Just being here was enough to make him want to ball his eyes out.

'Why...'

Yoshinori had grown up seeing every other child around him playing with their father or older brothers, someone for them to look up to. Someone for them to find a role model in. The closest he had was Kazuo and half the time the man was away on a mission or busy with Mamorinuku business which helped to keep him away from the village and out in the field monitoring the outposts.

'Shitty father...why'd you have to go and fight the two most dangerous missing ninja by yourself...you should've retreated with them when you could.'

Tears threatened to spill from his eyes as his shoulders were racked with silent sobs. 'All mother does is talk about you...like she's lost in the past and living in the present is worth than death. WHY?!' The thoughts shot through his mind, racing at hundreds of miles per hour. Finally, the tears building up in his eyes spilled over and begun to race down his cheeks before splashing onto the cold hard ground of the mausoleum.

The impact of her forehead on his shoulder brought the young man back to reality, back to the mausoleum. He blinked his tears away, several more falling down his cheeks before he rose an arm to wipe them away in an attempt to make himself more presentable than he felt. The young man listened to her words, his face still streaked by tears before he finally decided it was his time to speak.

"Maybe one day Hanako...but I don't feel like today will be it." Yoshinori replied to her request of his father as he let go of the massive tension held within his shoulders. She'd feel them sag as he tried to relax and the pressure of him also resting against her. Right now, she was the only thing keeping him from breaking down into another mess of tears.

[Willoria]

She could feel him next to her, even as she spoke to his father, even before then. The tears, the sobs, they were all so familiar to her. She had been much the same way after her brother died, after she lost her entire family. Even after she had gained an all new family, some days that had just made it all worse. Hanako couldn't pinpoint when she had started coping pretty well with the loss, but at some point it had started, and she could feel that it hadn't started for the boy next to her. As he answered the request she made of his father's spirit, she simply nodded in understanding, squeezing his hand lightly. "That's okay." she told him. "I'll wait." She looked at him a moment before shifting how she was kneeling so that she was more or less facing him, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She rest her forehead against the side of his head as she sat there, and let out a light sigh.

"I know it doesn't seem like it... but it does get easier." she tried to assure him. "You won't forget him, you'll still come see him, but you'll think more about how he's walking with you every day, and less about the bad. And I'm here to help you now too." She smiled a bit as a thought ran through her mind. "If you ever need me, I'm easy to find... and if you can't find me, I'll just find you. I'm a Hyuuga after all, I can always find you." she added. She only released the hug when she felt he was ready, or if he pulled away of course. Both of her hands went to one of his and simply held it a moment, before one hand strayed to touch the side of his face.

"I hope you know, I'm laying claim to your first real smile." she teased lightly, chuckling to herself. "In the meantime though... how about we go get something to eat? Those rice cakes weren't all that filling." She had a feeling the boy before her was probably tired already of the emotion flooding through him, the feelings he so clearly hid from the world. Perhaps it was time to step away from it, and in the back of Hanako's mind she was already dedicated to helping him find ways to find who he was supposed to be.

[Niro]

Yoshinori sat in silence as the young Hyuuga girl wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him into an embrace. The hug made the young chuunin feel warm and safe, something he was unaccustomed to feeling and, truthfully, something the people in his life did not give to him often. Those who had helped raise him did so out of duty to his parents, as a favor to them.

The bonds they had formed and shared were present and there, but Yoshinori always felt as it they were forced. The only person he felt truly cared about him most days was Nara, Shikari. She had been around him since his birth, doing her very best to take the place of the absent and broken woman he called mother.

Unconsciously Yoshinori leaned into the hand pressed against his face, his eyes taking on a distant look for a moment before he snapped back to his senses again. She was right, he was hungry at this point and although the rice cakes were quite good they weren't the best thing to fill up on. He blinked quickly as one of her comments came back to him full force, a look of innocence striking his face.

"I hope you'll take responsibility for it." He replied before pulling away from the hug and standing up. Yoshinori offered her his hand in assisting her up before the two young teens exited the mausoleum in search of food.