Oita was awake first. You could tell because there was a sawing noise from his working room; it seemed that, if he couldn't work until really late and pass out among his tools, then he got up and did it early in the morning. He had been trying to be quiet at the early hours, but it was getting on now. He might as well be an alarm clock.
Akane was also one of the early risers of the house. As her mother used to always say, 'the early bird catches the worm'. At the moment though, she was sitting on the couch of the living room with one of her medical books, trying to catch up from all the time she had been using lately to help El with his fear of heights. Believe it or not, once she started reading, she often finished whole books at a time. Although she was a bit reluctant to admit it, but she was rather enjoying learning about chakra flow and how to guide it to healing tissues.
Oita wiped his brow slowly as he emerged from his room. He was rather tired... he even realised that he needed a drink right now. Silently he padded along the rooms, sidling through the living room and not realising that Akane was there as he went to get a drink.
"Oh. ack- jeez!"
Akane coughed, sitting up from the couch, "You smell like a saw mill."
Oita froze slightly as she suddenly spoke, but managed to not turn and throw a whole array of weapons at her. "Yes" he said, the word coming out with a hot breath of relief "I was... working. I needed a drink." He always wound up justifying everything he did to the others.
"What are you working on so early? Aren't you usually asleep til later?"
Akane asked, putting her book down and stretching her back a bit.
"You made me sleep early... I woke up early as well, and decided to get a bit of work out of the way"
Oita said, sidestepping the question about what he was working on. He didn't like to give away his secrets... or perhaps spook her out.
Unfortunately she wasn't evaded. "Can I see?"
Akane asked, "Though I might have to clean out my lungs afterward."
Oita paused in his movements to go get a drink again. His head slowly revolved around, not a complete one hundred and eighty, but his head just seemed to swivel. "Will you promise not to be disturbed and let me explain?" he asked, which wasn't a very good way of starting things out.
"I doubt you will disturb me."
Akane said, getting off of the couch. "Unless you're making like... a wooden girlfriend or something...th
at's a bit creepy."
The silence went on for a few seconds longer than was comfortable. "I am not" he said finally, Oita grasping a clean cup in the other room and coming back with some water. "Follow me" he said gently, walking back towards his workshop area.
Akane followed after him, picking out a slight wedgie from sitting on the couch. "You're making this out to be some sort of big reveal. Does Kami know?"
"No... I don't allow many people to see my work. Though not many ask to be honest" Oita felt okay showing Akane, he was sure that she wouldn't grasp the finer points of this. She would probably be too distracted anyway. With a soft sigh, Oita pushed open his workshop door. On the table, carved in wood, was... it was feminine... and it had... rather familiar bodily dimensions. Very familiar in fact. Even without a face, Akane would be able to tell that this was a wooden puppet of herself. It had movable joints and everything, but in addition he had added a membrane webbing between body and arms, like a bat's wing. "Allow me to explain?" he said gently, wondering if Akane would run, or hit him and run.
Kami burst through the front door, panting sort of heavily. "Akane!" She shouted. "Oita?" She hurried to her room where she grabbed her ninja tools and stopped outside the workshop. "Are you ready!?" She asked, still breathing heavily. "Where did Ishiaki Sensei leave the mission report?"
Akane had a look of disbelief and confusion on her face as she stared down at a replica of herself. She opened her mouth to speak when Kami burst into the house. She turned her head and looked at Kami, "What are you spazzing about?"
"Ishiaki sensei hasn't appeared here yet" Oita said simply, stepping into the workshop and pulling his backpack from the corner where he had left it. It was useful to have almost everything you need in one spot, it made it easy for him to set off. "A mission must have come in" he said simply to Akane, his cheeks only a hint of pink as the door remained open and the puppet still on the table "an important one by the sound of it."
Akane was about to leave the room with Oita, when she stopped and looked the puppet of her once more. What the hell was he doing with that? And why? As Oita was leaving, she tilted her head at it for a moment before grabbing the hip and lifting it up onto it's side. "Hmm..." she muttered, putting it back down carefully before finally leaving after Oita. Akane took one last glance backward, though it wasn't at the puppet, but down at her own ass. "Mmm..." she grumbled.
There was a loud POOF! from the other room as Ishiaki appeared, tossing an armload of thick heavy clothing down on the couch. "You guys better be getting your gear. We've gotta go!"
"Yes Sensei!" Kami said obediently and rushed off for her room seeing that apparently they would be needing winter-ware. There was winter in her village so she already winter clothing. She ran off and came back seconds later with a pair of big furry boots and gloves, brown leggings and a very fluffy, warm looking blue parka with a hood.
"Pff... Hahah...you look like an idiot!!" Akane laughed at Kami as she was on her way to her bedroom. "What are you doing?!"
Ishiaki picked up a very bulky set of winter clothes and tossed it to Akane. "She is ready for the mission. Suit up, then get your gear Akane, unless you'd rather freeze to death when we get there."
"What? We're going someplace cold?" she asked with an unpleased tone as she looked down at the huge, puffy snow suits. "Oh jeez..." Akane said, hurrying into her room to get her things. She returned a few quick seconds later, still carrying the jacket and other various articles of clothing. Ishiaki can't be serious.
Ishiaki looked at Oita and held up a suit of snow clothes. "You ready to go Oita?" He asked him nicely, he could tell the boy was ready, he had already slung that immense backpack on, what more could he bring??
Oita took the winter gear; he had some basic items to keep warm, but this was more useful than those. Instead of putting it on, like the others have, he managed to free a few items from his backpack to store the clothes there instead. A variety of rather wicked looking carving and tuning tools were placed neatly on the table while Oita stored the clothes away. "I will put them on later, once we have reached the place where I will need them. I do not desire to overheat" he said simply; he did wonder WHY his teammate had decided to put them on now, when they would have a rather long run ahead of them before they got close to the cold area.
"Where are we going Sensei?" Kami asked, pushing down her hood. Oita was right, perhaps she shouldn't have gotten ready just yet.
"Is it really going to be this cold?" Akane asked, pointing dramatically at her ridiculous teammate, Kami. She had never seen such odd clothing before...and it worried her.
"Yes. If not colder." Ishiaki pointed out harshly. "Now quit whining. An Island under our protection has come under attack. Our squad is being dispatched to aid in Disaster Relief efforts. Our ship awaits at the docks."
Kami strapped on the rest of her tools and supplies. Winters in her village became very cold, but not as cold as Ishiaki sensei was letting on. Inside her parka she'd packed extra socks and hoped that was enough. She could see Akane needing socks by the end of the day.
"How will we be assisting this effort?" Oita asked their sensei; he wasn't sure they could challenge attackers yet. They had done a pretty good job defending someone, but this was in an unfamiliar environment where they would be the center of the attack. Not the finest place for them to be.
Akane rolled up her gear into a ball to better carry it. She was a bit worried when she saw pairs of thick boots sitting on the floor, one she assumed was hers. They looked....heavy....very heavy.
"Our squad will be acting as field medics. Oita, you will be our guard while the rest of us work on the casualties." Ishiaki informed them simply as he headed for the door. If they weren't ready now, then they were going unprepared. He stressed the importance of the mission already. It was time for them to get going.
Oita nodded, wondering how far away this place would be. Running or some kind of transportation? If it was running, they'd have to pause to put some clothes on, if transportation they would have time to slip into the warm wraps. Didn't matter really, Ishiaki was leading them away, he just had to follow him and hope he was prepared.
Field medics... Kami pursed her lips. She was a ranged fighter, not a medic... that was Akane. She looked at Akane and wondered how their budding friendship would hold up under the stress of field medicine?
Akane was looking at Kami too, though with a totally different thought on her mind. She was really the only ninja currently being trained in the medical arts. Sure Kami's herbology was fantastic, but Akane was technically the 'go to' medic and even so, she had minimal practice on humans thus far. "What happened to them?" Ishiaki said 'disaster' and that could mean a dozen things. It would be nice to know what they are going into and how she should prepare her stomach if open wounds were the issue.
"They were attacked by rogue ninjas." Ishiaki replied, not exactly wanting to tell them that the other squad was being dispatched to the same location just yet. He knew tempers would flare if he did. It would be best if that part were done when they got to the docks. He opened the door and gestured for them to head out. "Now, if you don't mind, we really must hurry down to the docks."
"Lead the way" Oita said, walking towards the doors; he roughly knew where the dock was, but Ishiaki was going to need to give him a bit of direction. At least to which boat they were getting on.
Ishiaki headed out the door into the INC Village. The boat in question, he could only assume, was bound to be clearly obvious once they got there. The Research and Development squad were sure to have made some extravagant.
Akane grabbed her book from the sofa before hurrying out with her gear in her arms and a small satchel along her shoulder.
Oita was slowly dragging a tree through to his house. He'd picked an area relatively close to his home, so he wouldn't have to drag it far and bother people, but it was still a rather heavy tree and took him a while. He sighed, soaking wet by the time he came to his shed. He had some tools in here which would allow him to cut the wood into more managable pieces. There was also a girl in this shed. Wonderful. He knocked first.
There was dead silence for a moment. After a few seconds, Rin's voice said, "Oh- it's just you." and opened the door to reveal the girlified shed interior. She had blankets, towels, a string of lights hanging and a makeshift hammock with several stacked magazines in a corner. It very much looked like she had been there more than a week.
"I need to use the tools in this shed." Oita said flatly "It would be best if you moved your things into the main house now, or they may become rather buried under saw dust."
"Are you mad? You sound mad." she said flat out, giving him a wince. Akane was going to get in trouble because of her ...she knew it.
"I'm... it would have been nice if they had asked me whether someone could live in my shed... I mean, I'm more disappointed that they obviously think I would not allow you in my home..." Oita shrugged slightly "I'm not mad. Not at you at least. But it is better if you went in."
"Well...Akane really didn't want anyone to know she was keeping me here. Not even your sensei." she explained, "It's safer the less people know I am here. "
"Why is it 'safer'?" Oita asked, carefully pulling part of the tree into the shed. Akane was getting in more and more trouble.
"Akane doesn't want me to get her in trouble with the coalition." Rin explained, ignoring Oita's question.
"Right now, you are living in my shed. You have made it apparent that you could get in... trouble... if people knew you were here. So answer my question. Why are you here, and why is it safer if people could not locate you?" Oita did seem to have her here. He wasn't dropping it.
"Akane doesn't want me back home. She doesn't think I can take care of myself." Rin explained.
"And she feels you would be... safer... here?" Oita asked, thinking about all the sharp tools he kept in his shed.
"Well...see..." she trailed, still very sensitive about the matter, "I was home all by myself. Mom passed away two years ago."
"Alone?" Oita asked gently, raising an eyebrow and stepping inside of the shed to get out of the rain "I'm sorry about your mother... but... what about your father?"
"He was lost at sea before I was born." Rin explained, not too bothered by it. She never knew the man afterall.
"Then why would it not be a good idea for you to be here?" Oita asked, frowning "If no one else is there to look after you, it would be better that you stay here."
"Didn't know if it was allowed." she said with a shrug. "And I'm sure you know how stubborn my sister is. She isn't really the one to ask for help."
"Well, she's not asking for help." Oita pointed out with a small shake of his head "I'm making sure my shed is not the sleeping area of a small girl. I need it. Now, do you want help moving your things in, or shall I leave you to it?"
"You letting me stay here is help enough." Rin said with a pleasant smile, batting her eyes at him a little. She started picking up her things, making first work of the hammock.
"I'll find you a place to stay when I have finished here." Oita said, moving over towards the back, opening up a tool box and pulling out a rather wicked looking saw "I won't be long. I'm just going to be splitting the tree into appropriate pieces."
"You're the dollmaker, right? Wait- no....p...p-something. Puppetmaker! Right?" Rin asked, putting all her things in a box.
"I am capable of making both. But yes, I am the puppetmaker." Oita said with a small nod, going over to the log in the doorway and placing his hand on it. He measured it with his eyes, then carefully began to saw in a specific place.
Rin was ready to step outside when she put her things down in the doorway and watched him a moment, "Whatcha makin?"
"In our last mission, my puppets got rather... brutally destroyed..." Oita said with a soft sigh "I'm going to try to finish some I was working on, and possibly mend others." Some of the damage was bad, but he could repair them... maybe. "Please, stay out of my workshop." he didn't need her seeing the puppet of Akane dangling from the ceiling. He was working on the internals, and the suspended puppet looked a little... disturbing.
"O-oh.... okay." Rin said, defeated. Right when she was going to ask to see them, Oita told her 'no.' "Well, I'll get my stuff out of here then." she added and picked up her box of things to head outside, then to the house.
Oita nodded to her, staying here and sawing at the log. It was clear, inside the house, which was his workshop, because there seemed to always be sawdust circling out from beneath the door. The light was off. If an inquisitive young girl wanted to look, it would only be a handle turn away.
Rin put her things in the living room and ventured to the bathroom where she used a towel to dry herself. When dry, she perused the kitchen for something to munch on.
Oita came back inside quarter of an hour later. He had sawdust on his legs, but he'd scraped his shoes when he'd come in, and left them just outside, protected from the rain. "Hello?" he called out, wondering if Rin was still here.
There was some sizzling from the stove, "In here!" she called. There was a strong aroma of veggies wafting out from the kitchen.
Oita approached the kitchen slowly, sniffing the air as he did. She was cooking already? She really did make herself at home.
Well...she had been in the house numerous times, but Akane made sure it was when Oita was too busy working or out gather supplies. "I hope you like stir fry."
Oita gave a small nod. "Of course." he said gently, running an eye over Rin as she cooked in the kitchen "Are you alright? Will Akane be angry at you?"
"She's always made at someone, isn't she?" Rin laughed, pouring the veggies into a bowl over white rice. "Sit." she said, "Mom always said you don't digest well standing up."
Oita found himself sitting down in the place that Rin pointed to. He watched as she put the meal together. "Yes, she does always seem to be angry. Do you know why?"
Rin found it a bit rude for Oita to ask something like that. So, she answered with, "She just worries a lot. Here you go." Rin said and put the bowl down, "I- did you tell me your name?"
"Yes." Oita responded, not sounding angry that she had forgotten it "Thank you for the food." He took up some cutlery, letting it cool slightly before he began eating.
"Uhh...okay. You're welcome." Rin said with a bow. He had told her his name... but she had totally forgotten and he hadn't reminded her. He must be upset by that. "I'll leave you be then."
"My name is Oita by the way." he told her, realising she wasn't going to actually asked. He'd answered her question, and had waited for her to ask again. Oita was a little strange, he couldn't help that. "Please, do not go yet. We have things to discuss. Like where you are going to be sleeping."
"Akane and I only intended this to be temporary." she explained, "My home on Quill Isle isn't safe right now."
"You keep mentioning that this place is safe. Safe from what?" Oita asked, raising an eyebrow and scanning Rin slowly. What were they hiding from?
"Well- I'de be all by my helpless self if there was a hurricane...the rainy season is on it's way you know.." she explained.
"I see." Oita said, fairly certain she was lying "But, we still need to discuss where you are going to sleep. You need a bed after all."
"The sofa is fine. I don't want to intrude..." Rin said seriously, "I'm thankful enough you are allowing me inside."
"Might I suggest you move into my room?" Oita said, speaking only when his mouth was empty, so he didn't seem rude.
"Oh goodness...uhmm... I don't even know you, sir." Rin said politely.
"Not with me, of course." oita reassured her "I sleepy mostly in my workshop. It would be of little consequence if you took my room."
"Are...you sure?" Rin asked, a bit nervous at the thought. She had never slept in a boy's room before....an older boy's room for that matter.
"Well, I would not want to force you to share a room with your sister, and sleeping on the couch is a little... well, let us say, your privacy would be impossible to maintain. I insist you take my bed." Oita said with a small nod "I have one of my own in my workshop."
"Thank you so much." Rin said with a respectful bow. "My sister is lucky to have such wonderful teammates such as you and Kami."
"I doubt she would say such a thing." Oita admitted truthfully "But thank you. Will you assist me in moving my things out of there? it won't take long."
"I don't want this to be any trouble...are you sure about this? I could be on the sofa...like I said, I dont intend on staying long. Maybe another week or so?" she said.
"I am certain. Honestly, it is no trouble. If it is only a week or so, then I would like you to spend that week or so in comfort." Oita said with a small nod to the nine year old girl.
"You're the best!" she exclaimed, running over and forcing his arm into a hug. "Mmmmuah!" she said whilst kissing his cheek, knocking his glasses off balance.
Oita's cheeks lit up, a blush spreading through his face as she kissed him. Well, this was new. Though she was only nine, so she probably had the affection of an excited puppy.
"Maybe since El is going with Akane on a date this week, YOU can be my new boyfriend instead?" Rin asked with a laugh, releasing him and jogging out of the kitchen.
He sat there in silence for a moment, before saying in a flat tone, "What?" That had come out of no where... was she really Akane's sister? She certainly didn't really act like it...
Rin went into the living room and started to arrange her things nice and neatly tucked into her box.
Oita emerged a minute later after eating the food he'd been given. He nodded to Rin, then went over and opened the door to his room. Luckily, it was quite neat. "I might need a few things from in here." he said with a small nod "I can't get everything into my workshop, but I will make sure you are aware when I desire to come in here. I won't intrude."
"Fine." she said simply, sitting on the sofa and waiting patiently.
Oita didn't even more from the doorway. He held out his hands, and his stuff just seemed to tidy itself up for him and float from the room. He carefully moved it into another area of the living room, so it didn't mix with Rin's stuff. "There we go." he said, nodding at the empty looking room.
"Voodoo!" Rin exclaimed. "How are you doing that?!"
"Chakra strings." Oita said with a shrug, raising a hand up and showing small red strings coming from his finger tips. "I make puppets, and I use them too. I can use them to control and lift things."
"Woah... cool!" Rin said, wanting to see his puppets again, but didn't ask a second time.
She hadn't actually asked a first time. She'd been told she couldn't look in his workshop, and had thought that had meant she couldn't see anything. But Oita didn't know that. He just nodded and looked down at Rin's items. "Do you want a hand?"
"No no... I'm fine." Rin said, hauling up her things. She didn't want to appear weak in front of him. Perhaps this was a quality she shared with Akane.
Indeed. Oita nodded to her and moved over, gathering some of his items together so he could move them discretely into his workshop.
Rin carried her things into his room and set the box on the bed. This place really looked like a hotel...like Oita was rarely in it.
Oita emerged, leaving the door open slightly to his workshop so he could carry some more things inside. He glanced up at Rin as she looked around the room. "Do you have everything you need? Spare clothes? Towels?"
"Yeah, I'll manage." Rin said with a nod and smile, not wanting to bother him.
"If you need anything just call." Oita said with a small nod. it had been rather... boring... when Akane and Kami had gone out on their own little trip. Probably to get this girl. He would be glad for company.
"You got it!" she said with a thumbs up.
Oita nodded, moving another item from his room into his workshop. He was going to have to stack some of these... and he would have to clear out a drawer to make room for his clothes.
Rin laid on Oita's bed and brought out one of her magazines before starting to page through it.
Oita got all of the items in to his workshop, and after casting a eye towards Rin to make sure she didn't need him, he moved out towards the shed again. He had stuff to do.
Rin watched him leave out her door. She smirked a bit and continued reading...but found her curiosity growing to what was in his workshop.
The door was slightly ajar, from all the travel in and out recently, but the light was off inside. Oita was no where near, outside in the shed for now. The perfect moment, since he was using such loud things as saws and hammers.
Rin got up and wandered down the hall, unable to halt her curiosity. As if pretending to head to the bathroom, she stopped and inched over to Oita's door. She stayed outside and merely poked a finger on the knob, pushing it open ever so slightly.
Inside it was dark, but the light from outside the door illuminated it slightly. Just enough to see a figure dangling from the ceiling, arms strapped to the roof, head bowed as if asleep, or dead. There was nothing beyond the torso, seemingly cut off from there. Indistinguishable things dangled from the bottom of the torso, as if guts were spilling from the dangled body. Even in the half light, Rin would be able to recognise the shape of her sister, Akane.
"Woah.... cool!" she exclaimed and turned on the light for a moment.
A carved replica of her sister dangled from the ceiling, a selection of rope and tools dangling from inside of the puppet's body. It was rather well sculpted, and the legs were laying on the large table that took up most of the room. The room was suitably cramped, specially since Oita had crammed his normal sleeping quarters in here as well. There were also, in fact, miniature doll like models of puppets on the shelves, if she was looking for something complete and doll sized.
Again, Rin breathed another 'woah..' as she stepped into the room and looked around. She had forgotten all about Oita and him telling her not to enter. It was like a toy store in here...how could she NOT venture inside?
A toy store with some very sharp implements inside. She should be careful, there were carving tools and weapons to go inside of puppets all around. Then again, there were also small miniatures and sketches of puppets to be made. Oita certainly had a lot of stuff to play with.
Rin was certainly no ninja yet, but she always found interest in making traps. In fact, then Akane and Kami had gone to pick her up, they had gotten snared in one of her nets. It was because of this interest that Rin could actually read most of Oita's plants and blueprints. "Ooo...spring loaded, eh?" she asked, looking at one of the plans, then finding the puppet that matched it. "You're adorable."
As she held a little version of candle, there was a "ffoof" noise and his head went up in flames. As it turns out, Oita had attented to made the small models as close to the real thing as possible. It was actually more like a 3D blueprint he could use when making repairs or modifications on his actual puppets. Now they were just reminders of broken friends though.
"HOLY FLOCK!" Rin cried, holding out the mini Candle. Panicked, she ran down the hall and into the kitchen where she dunked the torch into murky sink water.
Before she dunked it into the water, it cut out on her. The fire just... stopped. Still, it was dunked under the water, the little wooden doll just dangling in her grip, head in the sink water. "What are you doing?" a soft voice called from behind her. Oita was in the kitchen.
"NOTHING!" was her immediate response. Oita's voice startled her, causing Rin to jump and drop the puppet completely into the water. Her eyes bulged out of her skull before she immediately spun around and held her hands behind her back, splashing water onto her feet.
"What have you got there?" Oita asked, raising an eyebrow and carefully moving forward towards Rin. He was giving her a chance to confess to whatever was making her look so guilty.
"It's.... u-uhm..." Rin stuttered, backing up against the sink, soaking her bum in spilled water.
"Rin, it would be easier if you told me what you did." Oita said calmly, taking another step forward, so he was right in front of her.
"W-well...I sort of...went into your room and-" Rin turned around only to see Candle's body bobbing in the sink water, covered in suds. "I'm sorry!" she wrapped onto Oita's torso and hugged him. "I didn't mean to!"
"Oh dear..." Oita could see over her head from where, with her hugging him. He reached around her, fishing in the sink and pulling out the miniature puppet. "I did tell you not to go in there." he said, sounding a little cross at Rin, holding Candle upside down so the water would run out "Why did you immediately sneak in?"
"I-I didn't mean to!" Rin cried, letting go of him and keeping her gaze down. "I was walking down the hall and you left your door open. I just....peeked in. It was so cool t-that I sort of just....wandered."
Oita sighed, shaking his head and moving over to take a hold of a piece of tissue. He carefully tore bits off and began to dry the insides off, looping the torn pieces around chakra strings and using them to get into all the nooks and crannies. "Why did you dunk my puppet under water?"
"I touched it and it went FOOOSH! Up into flame!" Rin threw her arms up to show what she meant.
"This is a model of candle. He's one of my puppets, and he is meant to ignite. See?" Oita gently pressed Candle and the doll's head lit up.
"Yea! Like that!" she pointed, a bit more excited this time. "How on earth did you make such a mechanism?! I've never seen anything like that before. I've only ever made trigger based mechanisms....how did you get the head to ignite?"
"When the trigger release is activated, it strikes a small spark, an internal ignition. This means that the fuel and the spark meet at the same time. You see these little holes here?" Oita indicated several small holes around the neck of the doll "It escapes from here, and wraps around the head, because of the specific coating I give it."
"Does the coating protect the wood as well?" Rin asked, able to keep up with all this technical speak. She loved it actually.
"To a point, but eventually it can come away, and the heads are what I find I need to replace on them more than anything else. The bigger the puppet the more temperature it can take of course, so the real sized one of this puppet needed a new head only every so often." Oita said with a nod, before looking around and frowning at Rin "why do you ask?"
"I like making stuff too. Not... like THIS stuff or anything but- traps...mechanisms." Rin explained, "That sort of thing."
"Well, quite a few of my puppets are basically just mobile traps." Oita admitted with a small nod "How proficient are you at making them?"
"I managed to trap Akane and Kami back home. They didn't see it coming and it was a simple snare trap. Kind of pathetic of them really."
Oita nodded slowly "I see. Well, they haven't had much time dealing with traps when I'm not around. Usually, if we have training like that, I end up getting rid of all the traps first, so they wouldn't activate them."
"I wonder... had you come to the shed without me knowing- would YOU have gotten trapped in my mechanism?" Rin pondered. She had disabled it before he had returned and after he said she could stay in the house.
"Possibly. Well, I might have activated it, but I am trained in deactivating them as quickly as possible, even after I have triggered them." Oita admitted. He wasn't going to say that he would have deactivated it, after all, he hadn't been expecting it.
"So-..it's not broken, is it? The doll..." Rin said, looking down at it.
"No... No, it should be fine, I do test it..." Oita said, carefully shaking the model of Candle. He looked at Rin, then sighed softly "Would you like to look at some of my things?"
Rin beamed him a bright, toothy smile, jumped excitedly and said, "Yes please!"
Oita sighed, but he was smiling at the girl. He checked Candle again, then moved back towards his workshop. "Is there anything in particular you wanted to see?"
Rin wrapped her arms around Oita's as they walked. "Let's start from left to right."
Oita didn't remove his arm from hers, but he found it strange she was attached to him. He opened the door to his workshop, nodding into it "Well, over on the left hand side is my main work table. As you can see, I'm attempting to make a puppet of your sister."
"Yea... I thought that one was kinda ugly." Rin laughed, clearly joking. "Why make one of Akane? Do you have a crush on her too?"
"No, what fascinates me is her ability to fly. I was attempting to make a puppet with the same dimensions as her, in order to some how mimic her ability to sustain herself in mid-air for long periods of time. Unfortunately, it hasn't been that successful. I hollow it out, and it becomes too brittle..." Oita said with a small sigh "It perplexes me."
"It's...not REALLY flying. My sister just uses wind to thrust herself and float." Rin corrected just as Akane had. "About it being too brittle, well, that's just what the trade off is. Birds gave up their front legs and thick bones for wings and feathers. You can't have it all. Things just don't work like that. Even if you were able to make something 'fly' in the way Akane can while being heavy and firm...you lose any sort of agility. Washitori, our village sensei, always said we were both glass canons."
"I've tried to counter my issue. before, when I made the legs hollow, they nearly always shattered on landing. But I've added these... metal bones almost." Oita turned the legs around, showing they were hollow, but with metal tubes for support "I suppose it would be best to ask what you think of them, before I go out and shatter another pair of legs."
Rin grabbed one of the legs and lifted it. "Wow, that is light....impressive. I guess what I should ask is... how are you going to give it thrust?"
"That's the torso." Oita said, going over to the wooden body dangling from the roof. He carefully stretched out a membrane of cloth between the elbow of the arm and the waist. "A few of these connected can allow me to treat the puppet as a kind of kite. I can pull it along with chakra strings... this does require some wind though."
"It's just a kite? You need some sort of thrusting mechanism..." she pondered. "What about finagling a bellow-like device in the trunk of the body. It would have to be of a very thin fabric though. Maybe it could mimic the wind without waiting for a breezy day."
"Because it's so fragile though, any slip would cause it to fly completely out of control." Oita pointed out, frowning and gazing at the torso "I'd have to put in more items to stabilise it, and that would increase the weight..."
"Well... don't slip up." Rin said with a smile, elbowing Oita playfully.
Oita nodded, then carefully reached out and took a tool from the bench. He leant up, carefully shaving a few more bits from the insides, helping to lighten the weight "I don't suppose you'd be interested in showing me your abilities? From the sound of it you can hover, like Akane."
"I'm not that good at that sort of thing... not yet at least. I could try?" she offered, wanting to help.
"It would be very useful." Oita said with a gentle nod "But you needn't stretch yourself. A few minutes is all I would need."
"But what's in it for me?" Rin asked with a sly smile and a hand on her hip.
"Well... what do you want?" Oita asked, a little uncertain what Rin would ask for. He wasn't going to give up one of his puppet models.
"Do you think you could make me something?" she asked with a smile.
"Probably. Depends what it is." Oita said with a small nod to the girl "What is it you want made?"
"Oh I donno..." Rin rolled her eyes, her hands behind her back, "Doesn't have to be big or anything. A souvenir."
"Well... I..." Oita looked a little unsure. He wasn't used to making gifts for people "I could carve you a doll... if you want?" He really sounded uncertain about this.
"Really?! Oh that would be so cool!" Rin jumped a bit, "Can it be a puppet! Could you teach me how to use it maybe?!"
"Well, you'd really need to be able to form chakra strings if you wanted to use it properly... but... alright." Oita said with a small nod, and a hint of a smile "What do you want it to be a doll of?"
"Uhm..." she hummed, not really knowing. "I don't know- so long as it's cool though."
"How about one of you?" Oita suggested, shrugging and trying to think or something on the spot "If you'd like that."
"Really?! Oh that would be so cool! Pleaaaaase! Please please!" Rin clasped her hands and bounced on the spot, all too excited about this.
"I will do my best, but in order to do that, I am going to have to watch you flying." Oita said with a nod "If you give me a moment to grab something to sketch on and some items, we can get to work."
"It's not flying!" she corrected again.
"it's a close approximation." Oita pointed out again as he went to go fetch some sketching implements from his room. He hoped she could sustain height for a while.
Rin watched him leave and stepped out of Oita's workshop, heading toward the front door. There was really no room to spin around in here and hover. She opened the door and stepped out, but collided with Akane.
"Hey!" she said to her little sister, "You aren't supposed to be in the house! What if someone saw you?!"
"Greetings Akane." Oita said as he stepped out of his workshop with several scrolls of paper beneath his arm and what looked like a collapsible easel "How has your day been?"
"I think it's about to get shitty." Akane cussed when Oita stepped into view. She was still standing outside under an umbrella.
"Language, Akane!" Rin piped up.
"Why would that be?" Oita asked, frowning slightly as he gazed at Akane and Rin "We haven't done anything wrong, have we Rin?"
Oita's cocky attitude really wasn't helping. Akane walked into the house with the umbrella, just barely making it through the doorframe. When she passed Oita, she gave him a brisk shove with her shoulder. "Move it." she said sharply, angry at the both of them.
She found Oita's shoulder rather more solid than her own light boned one however. He had carried that pack about on his back for quite some time, he had powerful shoulder muscles. It would be as if she shouldered a pile of bricks. "I still don't understand what we did wrong..." he said, frowning to himself.
"She is probably just pissed you know about me." Rin siad.
"Well, I suppose she has the right to be angry, just as I am with her." Oita said with a small nod before adjusting the items he was carrying "Now, to the sketches."
"It's still raining a bit-" she said, peering out.
"Hmmm... perhaps later then? Should we get to work on your doll for now?" Oita asked, frowning out at the rain. If he remembered right, even slightly damp clothes tired out Akane much faster.
"Okay!" Rin said, a bit more excited to watch Oita work.
"I'm afraid it's not as exciting as you seem to think it is." Oita said, raising his eyebrow and smiling at Rin before moving back towards his workshop. It would just be some carving for now.
Rin shook her head, "I just think it's fascinating. I was never very good at arts and crafts. I can sew, but that's about it."
"Well, it takes a little time." Oita admitted. When he went in, he picked up a small piece of wood. He wasn't going to carve the entire doll out of it, definitely. "I'm afraid you might catch me glancing at you. My memory is not perfect, and I want it as near as possible..."
"Should I read a book or something?" Rin asked, not wanting to bother him as he worked.
"Do what you wish." Oita said with a small nod "I have a few books in there if you would want something new to read. Some of them are on the construction of traps."
"Yes please!" she beamed that smile at him once again.
"I thought that might interest you." Oita said with a smile. He couldn't help but feel like one of those men that promised candy at home, and when you got there, it was never candy. Still, he wasn't like that. He coughed, smiled at Rin, then went looking around in his workshop, pulling out few side panels and storage areas. There had to be one somewhere.
Forget that singing brown boy she had met earlier....THIS boy was so much more interesting! She giggled girlishly as he rummaged, finding it all too amusing.
He was pulling open panels on the wall, and then panels on those panels, he had secret compartments going multiple layers deep it seems. He finally found one, a rather small book, with flaking cold writing on the front reading "秘匿" or Inpei, which meant concealment. "Here." Oita said gently, handing her to small book "It's about hidden traps. Very useful."
"Thanks Oita! This is awesome. Uhm... where should I sit?" Rin asked, looking around for a spot.
"I'm afraid I don't have any chairs in here." Oita said with a small nod towards his bed "You shall have to sit on there to read while I start carving. It might take a little while I'm afraid."
"It's okay- I really wanna look at this." Rin said, opening the book and walking over to the bed. Akane really should have warned her about getting into beds of hormonal teenagers.
Oita nodded to her, giving a small smile and picking up a small blade. He carefully began to carve, eyes flicking between the wood and Rin behind his glasses. He was making very slow and careful strokes along the wood. He wanted this to be good.
Rin was on her stomach on Oita's bed. Propped up on her elbows, she started on chapter one: supplies and preparation.
He had to get her body shape right. That was vital, he had to capture what she looked like. Of course... she would look different as she grew up. She was of a certain age after all, she would develop quickly. Oita shifted, frowning as he kept carving. A girl just at the cusp of her body's changing. He actually wanted to capture this as best he could.
When Rin heard him move, she glanced over at the pile of shavings on the floor and his lap. Then, her golden eyes shifted up to Oita's face where they locked. Blushing, Rin tore her gaze away.
oita glanced up a moment too late to catch her eyes. He smiled slightly at the reading girl. It had actually taken him a moment to realise there was a girl on his bed... and he was trying not to smile too much about it. Not that he really had anything to smile about, they were barely teenagers, but it made one little bit of him want to smile. Just a bit. He lowered his eyes to the wood again. This would take a little while. He hoped she was fine with that.
Rin went on reading, trying to ignore him. She read for about an hour, casually changing positions and just about forgetting he was carving her.
Oita moved forward a bit, getting a little closer to Rin so he could carve her details a little more. It wasn't incredibly detailed yet, but he wanted to capture the curve of her cheeks and how her hair falls.
At the moment, her hair was pulled back and under a cloth bandana. "Woah- have you read about these counter weight traps?!" she asked suddenly, turning a page. "Craziness!"
"Yes, they are quite fascinating to watch in action. I've never been able to implement them into a puppet however." Oita admitted "Do you think you could... remove the bandana?"
"Huh? Oh sure-" Rin sat up and untied the knot behind her neck and pulled the cloth off, revealing her hair. It was lighter than Akane's with a wave and much longer, just below her shoulders. "Sorry- it's probably a mess."
"It's fine." Oita said with a small smile "Here... let me just..." He reached over, carefully moving a strand of hair out of Rin's face so he could carve her hair and features a little bit more.
Her cheeks grew rosy as he pulled away. Suddenly Rin didn't think she had the concentration to read anymore. Oita was just...too cool.
He was so lucky that she was as innocent as she was. If she knew more about life and people in general perhaps she might realise how shy and awkward Oita was. Still, he was smiling as she blushed, carefully etching out the outlines of her face.
There was something alluring about Oita's tea saucer eyeglasses and sparked interest in Rin's eyes or perhaps it was how well they got along and with similar interests? Either way, she was crushing hard on Oita, who was probably oblivious.
He was mostly oblivious. He noticed the blush on her cheeks, that was pretty easy to see, but Oita didn't realise just how much she was crushing on him right now. He carefully blew on the model's face, then turned it towards Rin. "What do you think?" he asked, a little uncertain. It was only the head and torso so far, and the details hadn't been filled in, but she could see her shape in it.
Rin jumped up and hurried over to look at it, "Ooo!" she cooed with a smile. "Looks great so far! Thanks so much for making this for me! It's going to be awesome!"
Oita smiled bashfully, carefully placing the wooden piece down. He picked up another, smaller one. He would work on the jointed pieces from this. "I'm glad you like it. Do you want it to do anything... special?"
"What do you mean?" she asked simply.
"Well, Candle," Oita nodded to the small doll she'd touched earlier "Lights on fire... Casket has telescopic arms" he nodded to a rotund doll with a small head and large segmented arms "Clock... well, he does a lot of things." what looked like a miniature grandfather clock sat beside the dolls "Would you like it to do something special?"
"Umm...well....gee, I donno." Rin shrugged, "I'm not really a ninja yet so I don't have any cool skills."
"Oh... I don't know..." Oita said, smiling down at Rin "You seem very talented to me. How about I put a cavity inside the body so that you can place a smoke capsule there? In case you ever get in trouble."
"Sounds like a plan! I could put candies in there too." Rin mused.
"Less useful, but tastier." Oita said with a chuckle, smiling and doing something strange. He didn't usually get the urge to hug someone, but Rin's smiles and thoughtful look on his work made him want to wrap an arm around her. He made sure he didn't have a tool in it first of course.
Rin blushed again, having never been hugged by an older boy. "Heheh....want to see if the rain has stopped?"
"Sure." Oita said, placing the wood he'd made a few marks on down and letting Rin go. She seemed oddly nervous around him... he wasn't sure why.
Rin's arm wrapped around his, "Let's go!" she chimed excitedly, enjoying the time spent with Oita.
Oita walked with her towards the door, reaching out a hand as he went, and a collection of drawing implements floating after him. The easel had to wait, he didn't want to try supporting that with just one chakra string. "You seem very excited Rin." Oita noted.
"You're really fun." she complimented with a smirk and batting of her eyes. "You wanna be my boyfriend?"
Oita blinked at Rin "Boyfriend?" He gave a small grin, as if he thought it funny "Sure Rin." He knew what boyfriends and girlfriends usually did with each other, and he knew that it was very unlikely that Rin would desire that to happen. Still, she was a sweet girl, fun, excitable... why would he say no?
"Yay!" she exclaimed, hugging his arm tighter. Although Rin's idea of a 'boyfriend' was very tame, she still expected affection and butterfly kisses from time to time. Her face was pink from bashfulness, but she never looked happier.
Maybe Oita was underestimating her, but he did think that she was only considering a few pecks on the cheek and hugging her every now and then. Which he wouldn't mind. "Has it stopped raining?" he asked, looking out the doorway to see if Rin could do some flying for him
"I think for the most part..." Rin said, stepping out and immediately getting her feet soaked in mud.
"Well..." Oita frowned at the mud she'd stepped into "How about we come out later? Or tomorrow? If you're staying for a while then we should be able to catch a sunnier... less... muddy day?"
Rin wiggled her toes, loving the squishy feeling. "I don't mind. It's up to you, you're the artist."
Oita chuckled, watching Rin as she squished in the mud. "Well, I'm perfectly happy to draw you like this. I just didn't want you to get all weighed down and tired. If you're willing, I'd love to draw you."
"Oh this is fine- I can hover for you. Just for a little bit... I'm still sort of in training." Rin warned.
"Don't go too far." Oita said with a small nod "I don't want you injuring yourself, and any amount of time you can manage will be fine."
At the front door Kami called as she came in. "Akane... Ishiaki knows about Rin... Akane?" She walked into the kitchen, living room and the hall, looking for Akane.
Akane stepped out of the bathroom immediately, followed my a billow of hot steam, "HE WHAT?!" She was wearing a fluffy pink robe with her hair tied up in a messy bun.
"The Captain of the Tardis bitched on us." Kami said, completely missing the word "snitched". "He had to account for the payment he was given for the journey... The council called on Ishiaki while we were gone... it put him in a very awkward situation... He told them that he approved our mission to the Quill..."
"Holy flock- ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" Akane asked loudly. "Is he pissed?! Are we getting punished? Will he send Rin away??!"
"No, no, no..." Kami said, holding up her hands to calm Akane down before she lost her towel. "He did say that if we do something like that again that there would be... consequences... because he had to lie to the council on our behalf. What he wants to ask is if Rin might want to join the new academy. I told him she's a splendid young ninja and makes some of the finest traps I've ever seen."
"She doesn't need to put herself in danger and get tied into the coalition. They don't know what's best for her." Akane said, sounding a bit over protective of Rin all of a sudden.
"It's just school." Kami said. "She'll learn basic jutsu and technique. I'm sure as her guardian you can decide later if she is assigned to a squad."
"Maybe she would just be better somewhere else. She has no reason to become a ninja too." Akane said gruffly.
"She already is a ninja Akane..." Kami said curiously. "What's wrong? You don't seem yourself..."
"I just- ugh! Forget it." Akane waved her hand, "She can't join the coalition. She is too young."
"Ishiaki still wants to talk to you about it." Kami said. "But... don't you think you should ask Rin what she wants?"
"Mom wouldn't want her to. She barely wanted me to. I had to talk her into it." Akane explained.
"No offense Akane but... your mother is gone... you are mother to Rin now." Kami said trying not to offend her. "Would you have wanted her to make your decisions for you?"
"Rin doesn't need to be caught up in the coalition is all I am saying. If she wants to be a ninja, fine. But she isn't going to start at the age of ten." Akane said.
"How old were you when you began to learn under... with... him?" Kami asked. They both knew who she was talking about.
"That's not related. You can't just compare the two of us. It was different circumstances." Akane warned.
"Is it?" Kami asked. "I know I began training at half her age... and you were probably close too..."
"I don't need her getting my sister getting killed trying to be a ninja like me." Akane argued. Rin was all she had afterall. Though it was a bit of a hypocritial thing to say.
Kami held her tongue for a moment. "Well I can't convince you." She said. "And I must go back to work..."
"Fine." Akane said with a pout, heading into her room to change.
"Think about it Akane." Kami called after her, but hearing nothing frowned and decided to return to the greenhouse.
"Okay. Let me know when you are ready." Rin said with a smile, walking out onto the open grass.
"Give me a moment." Oita said, moving outside, finding an awning that had protected the ground somewhat, and stretching the paper out across his lap. He would have to make due. "You can start when you want." he said with a nod, looking up at Rin.
Rin hopped she would be good enough to show Oita how they..'flew'. Taking a deep breath, Rin did two long strides before leaping into the air. A gust of wind shot downward from her arms and boosted her up. She made a spin and gently started to float down to the ground again like a feather.
Oita was sketching at top speed, barely looking away from Rin as he did. It was more about what he saw right now than getting it perfect. The left, the curve, the spike, the twirl on the wind... He was trying to capture the points where she met resistance and points where she drove through the air like a drill through wood. They weren't so much sketches of her as her movements.
Rin crouched again, wind swirling around her feet before launching her up into the air. She landed gracefully and surged forward, leaping up again. Rin did this again and again until she grew too tired. It hindered her chakra and on the last swirl of wind, she overestimated the plane of the ground and flung herself onto her back on accident.
Oita say her fall, and his hands snatched out in an instance. It was lucky she was so small and light, or he might not have actually managed to catch her. That being said, he didn't catch her physically, he wasn't that fast yet physically... but he did manage to catch her with his chakra strings as she tumbled. He was going by how fragile Akane was, and didn't attempt to grab any place on her. Instead Rin seemed to land in a warm net of chakra strings, which tilted her slightly so she would stand on her own feet before it vanished. There was no way Oita could keep that up for too long. Raw chakra strings not attached to anything took up quite a bit of energy.
Rin righted herself on the landing . "Woah... that was so cool! You're so cool Oita!" she clapped and jumped up and down again.
Oita blew on the tips of his fingers. "It's... nothing." he said with a little smile "Really. But please, don't push yourself too far. I've got a few sketches of you already."
"Can I see?" Rin asked, running over.
"I'm afraid..." Oita said, an actual blush spreading across his cheeks as she raced over to see his drawings "They're not that good." They were rough, very rough sketches, of her movements. They mostly involved arches of arms and twists of bodies. He had been trying to capture movement rather than a complete picture of her.
"Looks like the wind." she said, not exactly seeing her exact face or body in the doodles.
"Yes... I was trying to capture how you ride the wind..." Oita said, smiling a little uncertainly and looking down at the quick slashes he'd made on the paper. It was her body in the middle of it all, but that wasn't what he'd been concentrating on.
"Sorry I'm not very good. Did it help though?" Rin asked.
"Oh, it helped a lot, really." Oita said, trying to comfort her "I'm glad you let me sketch you."
"No problem." she told him with a smile. "I can let you be now to work if that is preferred."
"Well, it's up to you... you could leave me work on the puppets if you want to... but I have a feeling that Akane might tack you down and tell you off if I leave you alone." Oita gave her a small, rather shy smile "You could stay with me as I carve if you want. Unless... you have something else you'd prefer to do."
Rin stretched her arms up above her head, "Not really- I can hang out if you want. Been bored stiff in that shed for the past four days."
"Well, I have a few more books you might be interested in reading." Oita said with a small smile "And you could keep... looking at my miniatures if you want too. Just promise not to break them, or dunk them under water."
"Just so long as none of them blow my hand off." Rin countered.
Oita actually paused, then looked thoughtful. "Don't pick up the one that looks like me." he said with a sage nod before rolling up his items and moving forwards the house again.
"Will do! Or... won't do? Whatever... you know what I mean." Rin said as she followed him. Pulling her hair back, she tied it back into the bandana.
Oita nodded, carefully moving forward towards the house again. he paused once he was inside, wiping his feet and taking off his shoes. He was looking around, wondering if Akane was out here. She'd been quite made before.
Rin stepped inside, but stopped on the mat. "Uh... could you grab me a towel?" Her feet were quite filthy.
oita nodded, moving off to the bathroom. He would give her one of his own towels, since he didn't want to sully Akane or Kami's towels. He emerged, the plain white towel folded over his arms. "Here." he said, handing it to Rin.
Thanks." Rin said and dropped it to the floor. She stepped on it and started to rub off the wet dirt, soiling the white fabric. "That's better." she said when finished.
Oita nodded, reaching down and picking up the towel. "I will see you in my room then." he said with a small bow, going to put the towel into the wash.
Rin went to his room and casually walked around, peering at a bookshelf, trying to find something interesting.
He had an interesting collection of books, from actual stories, and a rather large collection of plays, to books on painting, wood treatment and even a beginner's manual on puppetry. One of the larger books seemed oddly pushed away from the wall however. As if something was behind it.
Curious creature as Rin was, she stepped on one of the shelves and reached up, pulling the thick book out of the way.
There was a slightly raised plank there... attempting to remain hidden beside the others, but for Rin's trap trained eyes, she could see that it bulged out enough. It was one of Oita's little hidden places... but there was no obvious way of opening it. Perhaps pressing down.
Rin glanced behind her, then to the plank, gently rubbing her hand on it. She really shouldn't be doing this.
It pressed in slightly, and there was a click as a something inside activated. Only slightly, she felt it more than heard it. A small plank had slid away near the bed, a few more books inside it seems.
Hearing the click, Rin put the book back and jumped down as if she hadn't climbed up there in the first place. She saw the slid plank, but hesitated before looking.
Oita was currently quite busy, since she had made his towel filthy and he was trying to get the worse of the mud. She was left alone in there with an open secret compartment and some books.
Hearing Oita down the hall, Rin sat on the bed and casually moved the plank with her foot and peered in.
They looked like normal books... except the titles were a little different. Makeout Paradise was on the front of one, with a woman being playfully chased by a man, while another she could see had the words "The Ninja's Passion" as the title. There were roughly four books in the cavity.
Rin skimmed through one of the books and went wide-eyed at the back and white manga drawings of... boy and girl bitties. Scared, she closed them and quickly shoved them back into the hole, shutting the door immediately.
It was mostly writing, and a few.... pictures. Oita opened the door a few moments after she'd slammed the secret compartment shut. "Are you alright?" he asked after scanning her.
"Stubbed my toe!" she said quickly. "On your bedpost." Her face was beat red.
Oita paused, then his eyes flicked upwards towards the shelf. It wasn't the shelf of books though, but the shelf of puppets. "You didn't touch the small puppet of me did you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.
"No sir." Rin shook her head, "Not after last time."
"Sir?" Oita questioned, raising an eyebrow and moving to carefully settle on the bed beside her. "Is your foot alright? Not hurt too badly is it?" he knew Akane's bones wee brittle. What about Rin?
"It's okay, I'll live." Rin said, flexing her toes for him to see. "Maybe I should leave you be though- I'm getting a little sleepy."
Oita nodded slowly, looking concerned. "If... if you're sure..." he whispered gently, watching her in slight concern "Then I'll bid you goodnight."
"Or just a nap... I donno. Maybe I'll just take a bath." Rin tilted her head.
"Alright... you have your own towels though right? I'm afraid mine is rather wet at the moment." Oita said. He really did look after her, or try to.
"I'll manage, thanks!" Rin hopped off the bed and hurried to the door.
Oita frowned slightly, looking uncertain, and a little worried. He looked around, then carefully inspected the bed. It didn't look disturbed, and there was no sign of blood... and she hadn't limped. He was confused. And worried.
Rin went into Oita's bedroom and closed the door behind her. She took this time to lay on her bed and try to calm the red in her cheeks and the visions in her mind.
Akane was finished drying off and had changed into some nice, clean clothes. Walking over to her bed, she sat and fell onto her back with an exhale. Closing her eye, she listened to the rain outside, wishing it would never stop.
Oita sat in his room, carefully whittling away, frowning to himself as he tried to figure out what was wrong with Rin. She'd been perfectly fine, then had practically bolted for the door when he'd arrived here. He was worried. He had to admit.
Rin was in Oita's room now, too embarrassed to snoop any more. She had gathered some books and were reading them on his bed.
Kami came through the front door, a little wet and very red. She was wearing Kano's vest with a strip of red cloth to hide the bits of her that the vest did not.
Kano stepped in after her and closed the door. "Anywhere in particular you want for me to wait for you?" He asked as he propped the umbrella beside the door to dry.
There was a silence in the house. A silence of people being purposefully quiet. Not very unusual for Oita, but the fact someone was in his room was different. Since he was usually in his workshop. And judging by the concentrated silence in his workshop, he WAS in there.
"Have a seat on the couch." Kami told him. "Or you could take your things back to your apartment while I'm changing. Whichever you prefer."
"Kami? Is that you?" called Rin from Oita's bedroom. She hurried out, "Hey! Guess what? Oita is letting me stay...in-" she froze when she spotted Kano. To Kano, it appeared to be a young girl, roughly 11 or so. She had light green hair that flowed in a wave to below her shoulder blades. Her bangs were held back in a bandana while the rest flowed behind it. Her bright yellow eyes stared at him for a moment before she took slow steps backward, trying to take back how she barged into the room, being exposed to someone new.
"It's ok Rin." Kami said holding her hand out as if to stop her from going any further. "You don't have to hide any more. This is Kano... my friend, he's on the other squad." She looked at Kano. "Kano, this is Rin, Akane's sister."
Kano smiled and bowed to her. "I did not know Akane had a sister."
She smiled, "I didn't know this island was so full of such cute boys." Rin meant no harm by it, but she was a fun flirt by nature. "Forgive me, I've been cooped up in a shed for a little less than a week. You get a bit... stir crazy I suppose." Rin gave him a bright smile and seemed the polar opposite of Akane. When she spoke, it practically filled the room with an innocent warmth.
Kami smiled. "Well you keep picking boys that are taken." Kami said, taking Kano's hand. "Kano is my betrothed."
Kano scratched his head when she mentioned the shed. He'd have to ask Kami about that later. He couldn't help but smile when she took his hand and pronounced them betrothed though.
"El and Oita are already taken?" she asked, a hand on her hip. Not waiting for an answer, she was a bit perplexed by Kami's last statement, "Woah... you're getting married already? Oh that's so cute! Congratulations! When is the wedding? Do you have a dress yet?"
"Not for a very long while." Kami told her. "And I think you can still bank on Oita if you;re interested."
"There's always Hinji..." Kano pointed out and couldn't help but smirk at his friend's expense.
"Who's that?" Rin asked, walking more into the living room now that she knew it was fine. She was thankful she didn't have to hide anymore.
"Hinji is El and Kano's other team mate." Kami said.
"Oh... well... that's okay." Rin shrugged, "I don't think my new boyfriend, Oita, would like that."
Kano looked at her curiously, having a hard time keeping his jaw from dropping. "Oita's your boyfriend?"
"Yup!" Rin beamed a smile. "Isn't he just so handsome?" Her hand cupped her cheek and she swooned a little. "He had me model for him." Although, she was far to innocent to realize how bad that sounded.
"Uhh... I'm gonna go get changed." Kami told Kano. "Rin, can you keep him company while I'm gone?" She didn;t wait for an answer, she just slipped down the hall to Oita's door and knocked.
Oita opened the door carefully. He had a small wooden piece in his hand, which he was carving up for Rin. It wasn't much, but he had only just started out. "Yes Kami?" he asked.
"So...Rin was it? How long have you been here in the village? I can't believe we've not crossed paths before." Kano stated, looking at the little girl with a smile.
"Akane and Kami picked me up from home after the Frost Village mission you guys were on." Rin explained, "So I've only been here for about a week now." Rin smiled, sitting down on one of the chairs.
"Why is Rin saying you're her boyfriend and that she posed for you?" Kami asked. There was no accusation in her voice, just worried curiosity about the girl. "She's already had her paws all over El..."
"Simply because I am her boyfriend and she allowed me to draw her." Oita said, blinking his eyes behind his large glasses. It was quite simple why she had said that "And what do you mean by 'paws all over El'?"
"And Oita is your boyfriend?" Kano asked her curiously as he sat down on the couch.
"She thought he was cute when they met and sort of- wait, what?" Kami would have been flabbergasted if she knew the meaning of the word. "She's eleven, you can't date an eleven year old..."
"Why not? It's only two years younger than I am." Oita asked, raising an eyebrow at Kami "And... well, we are still teens... it's not like we're going DO anything. Though I do find her skills and enthusiasm very appealing."
"It's just... seems a little..." Kami trailed off. "How did this happen? How did you just suddenly decide all this?"
"She... almost set my room on fire." Oita said thoughtfully "She admires the small models of my puppets I made, and I heard she is quite good at traps and devices. We... found we had a lot in common. Why not date?"
"I... it's..." Kami didn't know what to say other than, "Akane isn't going to like this..."
"Akane doesn't like many things." Oita pointed out with a small shrug "Surely she must admit there are worse men."
"Yes but... She's really, really not going to like this." Kami told him. "Why not let Rin think what she wants to think, spend time with her, be friends... but just don't use the term... couple, boyfriend and girlfriend around Akane? Ok? I just... You see why she's going to hate this right? She hated me for weeks because I was amazed by the toilet... She doesn't need much to blow up about something."
"What if this developed into something serious?" Oita asked, blinking at Kami again "Why would I avoid telling Akane about this if we don't know how far it will develop?" He sighed gently "I... know why you're worried. I understand. But if Akane has an issue with me, then she should raise it for me. We do not have to bend backwards just to please her."
"This is gonna be so bad though..." Kami whined. "I just don't want the team to suffer... I don't want anyone to fight... we're in a good place and she's not going to understand."
"Not going to understand what?" Akane asked, walking out of her bedroom. She was dressed in casual clothes which consisted of loose fitted capris made of a very thin, almost see through fabric and a tanktop.
"Um..." Kami turned around as if she had been caught. She was still wearing Kano's vest with the strip of red fabric up the middle. "Me in red?" She tried, hoping maybe she and Oita could find a much better time to talk to Akane about her sister later.
Oita let out a small sigh "Akane, that is not what she is worried about. But I think we should have a conversation about that topic in my room. She is right... you will likely be angry at me, so it is not a conversation we should have out in the open."
"Uh... guys... what's going on here..." Akane asked slowly, looking between the two of them, not yet having time to ask about Kami's clothing.
Kami gently took Akane's wrist and guided her into Oita's room with her.
Oita carefully closed the workshop door and turned to watch Akane and Kami. "Are you certain you want to be present Kami?" he asked, casting a glance towards the girl. He would understand if Kami wanted to leave.
"I..." Kami hesitated. "You're gonna need someone to pull her off of you I think..." And they both knew that if Kami restrained Akane, there was little the wind ninja could do about it without reverting to jutsu in the house.
"Guys! What the hell is going on?!" Akane asked, growing concerned and upset they weren't being out with it.
"Akane... it's fine." Oita said, trying to keep his voice calm so Akane wouldn't lose her nerve already "Kami just believes that you will react badly to the news that... well... your sister and I are... going out." He coughed slightly, his cheeks turning a little pink.
"Going out there?" Akane asked, a hand on her hip, not quite getting it.
"Dating." Oita said flatly. except they haven't gone on a date really. And nothing had happened. "I am her boyfriend."
Kami stood aside as if waiting for a paper bomb to go off.
"Uh... no, you're not." Akane said, swinging her hip to the other side.
Kami covered her eyes with her hand. This was exactly what she'd been worried about.
Akane's tone was firm, but not furious, "Do you have any idea how many 'boyfriends' that girl goes through in a month? You're nothin' special, Oita...sorry to break it to you."
"Well, I did consider this, since she asked me to go out with her in a few moments... but it is just something you need to know." Oita said, nodding to Akane "How would you feel if this was not a relationship doomed to end in a few weeks, as you consider it to be?"
"It is doomed." Akane said firmly. "How would I feel? How do you think I would feel?! What purpose do you have with my sister, exactly Oita?"
"Well, she's quite intelligent, and skilled at making traps," Oita said thoughtfully "She was interested in my hobbies and friendly... and she seems like be completely oblivious to the fact I am a socially awkward shut in who has no friends." He wrinkled his nose slightly at this and sighed "Does that answer your question?"
"We're your friends..." Kami said softly.
"And friends don't let friends date their sister." Akane added. "Listen- it's nothing personal, Oita. You're a good guy and all, but- for crying out loud, she's eleven. Just let her be a kid. She doesn't need to worry about boyfriends yet."
"Then let her go out with me. If she likes the stuff I do, then she's more likely to stick around. If you have an issue with the fact she goes through multiple boyfriends in a month, why encourage that behaviour by splitting us up? I know that she is young. And trust me when I say that... well... I expect nothing from this. I will deter her from attempting to date others. At least... for a while." Oita said, before scratching his head carefully and saying "And... I would like to date her as well. We have a lot in common. And it would be nice to tell my parents I had my first girlfriend." His gaze slipped to Kami slightly. He'd heard her. He just... didn't want to really address the issue right here with Akane. It might make her more incendiary.
"No, tell your parents you are cradle robbing. She is too young to be dating someone your age!" Akane stated again, a bit more aggressive this time.
"And yet she asked. So if you let her date me, and perhaps be content, then she won't ask anyone else, perhaps someone who expects something from this." Oita pointed out again "Akane, I am caught between the urge to date her, because your sister is a wonderful girl, and the urge to protect her. And the best way I can think of... at least... the way I want to happen most... is me dating her."
"What kind of double standard is that?! Oita, I won't let you string along my sister's emotions like that. She is too young to date anyone older than herself right now. Rin doesn't even know what having a boyfriend entails. Again Oita- she is ELEVEN. Do you realize how SICK that makes you look?!"
"That's two years younger than me." Oita said with a small shrug. He glanced at Kami. Did she want to leave yet? "You make it sound as if I feel nothing for her, and you also make it sound as if I'm going to take advantage of her. I like her, I want to look after her, why should I not want to be her boyfriend?"
"You've known her for THREE HOURS TOPS." Akane snapped again, very protective of her sister. Rin was all she had afterall. She couldn't be too careful, even with Oita. "There is a BIG difference between eleven and thirteen, Oita."
"Just stop." Kami said rubbing her eyes. "Oita isn't going to do anything but be a friend to Rin. The label of boyfriend doesn't matter if nothing about the relationship is going to be fulfilled other than them spending time together. She's young, she's apt to change her mind in two weeks any way when she meets another boy her age at school... Have you even asked her about attending the academy yet?"
Akane crossed her arms and hung her head left with a pout. Of course she hadn't.
"Maybe you should do that before you go saying who she can and can't date." Kami told her. "Oita will no more hurt her than the man in the moon would and we both know that. Let them spend time together and if she wants to call her boyfriend, let her. It doesn't hurt anything."
"Kami, are YOU her guardian? No. You're not. So don't go telling me what I should and should not do with Rin. She is MY responsibility. That goes for both of you." Akane shot her glance to Oita.
"She's you're responsibility yes, but her life is not yours to live." Kami told her. "You're acting like my sister and if you keep it up Rin won't have anything to do with you."
"How dare you?! This is completely different!" Akane burst out, feeling attacked at all angles now. Why couldn't they understand this was a BAD idea? All she wanted was to preserve what innocence Rin had left. "Since Mom's death, I've had to take care of Rin all by myself. Neither of you have ANY clue what that's like!"
"How well were you taking care of her when you've been here for a year?" Kami asked. "You've let her get used to taking care of herself and now you want to dictate her every move. She's going to resent you for it if you start snapping no at her for everything."
"Akane... she was living in a shed..." Oita said gently "You obviously care for her and want to protect her, but it's going to be hard, if not impossible on your own. Please, she's staying here now. Allow us to help."
"She... she can't stay here." Akane said, not wanting to freeload. "I'll figure something out."
"Akane, your being ridiculous." Kami said... "You act like he's lurking around every corner."
Akane's eye went wide in shock, feeling like her trust in Kami had been violated before Oita. What was worse is that Kami was probably too thick to realize it. Her had lifted to slap Kami, but held it there, as if fighting herself. She couldn't deal with this shit right now. Turning around in a huff, Akane stormed out the door, wind gusting around her ankles, tossing up sawdust in her wake as she exited.
"I would ask you to explain." Oita said gently to Kami "But I have a feeling that would break her trust in you even more. I suggest you go to her before I enquirer any further."
"I'm sorry Oita. I shouldn't have said that..." Kami said, "But thank you for not asking." And she left to go find Akane.
Meanwhile, Rin smiled at Kano and replied, "Yup! Isn't he just so strong and handsome?." she clasped her hands and swooned to the left. Her previous 'ex's' weren't exactly what one would even consider a 'boyfriend' anyway. There were no dates to be had and the "relationships" only lasted a week tops.
"I suppose...if you like the purple hair and glasses type." Kano replied with a shrug. "Are you planning on staying here?"
"Here here? In Oita's house? No... I don't want to be a bother. Akane is hopefully going to find a place for me within the next week or so. We can't really afford a hotel right now." And going back home was out of the question.
"What's wrong with staying here? The place is a mansion..." Kano told her, gesturing widely with his hands at the size of the building. "I've just got an apartment and I have to share that with my teammates."
"Oita offered me his bedroom...and although he rarely sleeps there, I feel awful about it." Rin explained. "Akane doesn't want me to be a freeloader."
"Well, if you don't want to be a freeloader, you'll have to find a way to contribute. If you're contributing, then you aren't freeloading." Kano explained and scratched his chin in thought. "Can you cook, clean, anything like that?"
"I made Oita lunch. Yes, I do all those things at home. I would be perfectly fine being the sort of...maid around here if it's alright with Akane and Oita." Rin explained.
"I doubt Oita would mind at all. It's Akane that I'm sure will find something to complain about." Kano said with a smirk.
Rin opened her mouth to reply, but Akane stormed through and charged for the door angrily. "H-hey Akane!" she waved.
"NOT NOW." she replied loudly and left the room, ignoring Kano was even there. Akane left the house with a slight slam of the door, absolutely furious. Too furious to even scold Rin right now.
"Somethin tells me they just told her about you and Oita dating." Kano said with a grimace.
About five minutes later Kami and Akane returned. Kami was smiling. "I'm going to go change now." She said and before Akane could say anything added to Rin. "I think Akane has something to discuss with you."
"Uhm... okay..." Rin muttered, feeling she was in grave trouble all of a sudden. "What's going on?"
"Not here." Akane replied, shooting a glare at Kano for a moment.
"Then go to the kitchen." Kami told her. "I brought some cookies home last night. Go have some."
"Cookies?! Nice! Thanks Kami." Rin said, getting up and hurrying to the kitchen. Akane followed, not looking too thrilled.
Kano tried to sink into the couch when Akane glared at him. It wasn't as though he had anything to do with this. He perked up at the mention of cookies, and decided he'd ask for one when they had finished.
Kami left them, hurrying down the hall to go get changed.
Kano sat back on the couch and started twiddling his thumbs. Everyone else had left the room, so there wasn't much more for him to do other than wait.
Kami came out a few moments later in one of her normal blue dresses. She had the red sash and his vest draped over her arm. She had slick blue leather boots on to rid off the rain and mud from her feet. She handed him his vest and the sash. "Are you ready?"
Kano flung his vest on dramatically and quickly rolled the sash back up, tucking it inside of his bag. He smiled to her and nodded. "I am now, yes."
"Let's go then." Kami said, opening the door. It was still raining though she had forgotten about Kano's umbrella.
"Have you eaten there before?" Kano asked her as he stuck his umbrella out the door and popped it open.
"No." Kami said. "But I'm excited to. Oh-" She took a small bag of currency from her pack. "Here... so it looks like you're paying."
"If you insist." Kano replied and took the bag. He slipped it into the pocket of his vest and offered her his arm.
Kami took his arm and they started off the porch.
Kano smiled and raised the umbrella over their heads as they headed down to the market stalls to find the BBQ Restaurant
Stumble!