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The INC Greenhouse 1 [Logged in view]
[RSS] 2011-11-03 01:47:07
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Kano walked in, delighted to hear a little bell ring when he did so. He smiled and looked around. There were so many plants here. It always seemed to amaze him.
He couldn't see Kami anywhere but Hana, her boss was behind the counter, rearranging floral arrangements. It was nearing the weekend and they always had extra business for cut flowers around the weekend.
"Greetings, Niwa no aijin."
Kano said to Hana, approaching the counter with a smile. He held out the box of chocolates, "For you."
"Oh my..." Hana said smiling when she saw what Kano had for her. "What brings such a nice young boy baring gifts for this old lady?"
"Truthfully? My intentions are rather...selfi
sh." Kano explained, holding up the other box. "I have a present for your employee, my friend Kaminari." He smiled sheepishly, "I was told that the best way to see her while she was working, was to bring a gift for you as well."
"And who told you that?" Hana asked, resting a hand on her hip. That womanizer Ishiaki probably. "Well you don't have to bring me gifts if you want to see her. Honestly we're not very busy right now, if you'd like to take her off my hands for the day you may."
"He said it was a good idea." Kano told her, ratting out Kami's sensei with a cheeky smile. He scratched the back of his head and smirked. "I don't think I need the whole day..." Though truthfully, that would be really really nice...
"As long as you like then." Hana told him. "Go on, she's in the back."
"Enjoy the chocolates, Ms. Hana." Kano told her with a smile as he headed to the back, looking for Kami.
"Oh I will." Hana said brightly as he left.
He found her feet sticking out from beneath a long rack of fern-like plants that draped over the edges of their container.
"Kami? You got a minute?" Kano asked to the pair of wrapped feet that could only be hers
"Kano?" Her voice called from beneath the plants. "Is that you? Yes... just... give me a moment..."
"Who else would come see you at work?" Kano asked, leaning back against one of the tables. He smiled at his own wiiness and simply waited for her to finish whatever it was she was doing.
Kami began to back out from beneath the plants. Perhaps if she;d been more aware she would have noticed that her skirt became caught as she emerged.
Kano saw and hesitated for a moment before shielding his eyes. He couldn't help it. "Ummm...your skirt, Kami."
"Oh goodness!" Kami exclaimed as she tucked her skirt down. "Sorry, sorry." A month ago she would have hidden beneath that table of plants and not have come out till he was gone again. She'd sort of gotten used to constantly embarrassing herself around him. She crawled out, holding her skirt down. She popped back up with a sigh and a smile. "Sorry about that." she was nearly covered in dirt and spider webs from beneath the table. IN her hair there were dead bits of fern leaf and vegetation. She looked a complete mess.
Kano couldn't help but smile at her. "You look lovely..." He said without even thinking. He quickly clapped a hand over his mouth. Did he just say that out loud?!
"Oh your funny." Kami told him. "I'm probably a mess." She waved him to follow her as she started for the back sink so she could clean up. "So what brings you today?" She asked, lathering the soap into her hands so she could wash the first off her face. Only her paint came off too and ran blue streaks down her cheeks as she washed away the first.
"I kinda got something for you. You know, from the payment from that Boar Mission." Kano replied as he followed her. He couldn't help but stare as she washed the paint from her face as well. She really was lovely...he understood the reason behind the paint, his own people would do so some time. He preferred the tattooing tradition though.
She would to, but paint gave her the option of changing designed if she ever chose to. "You didn;t have to do that Kano." Kami said drying her face and arms. She looked in the mirror by the sink and began pulling vegetation and webbing from her hair.
"I know I didn't have to. I wanted to." Kano told her with a smile, still just being happy with looking at her. No doubt she went through this ritual everyday at the end of her shift, but still. To him it was a thing of wonder
"But I didn't get you anything." Kami told him. The webbing was too much to pluck out, she needed to brush it out. She pulled the pins that kept her hair bundled up and a cascade of ebony rippled down, nearly to the floor. There was a comb back here somewhere and she considered it rude to look for it now while Kano was waiting to give her a present.
Kano saw the comb and picked it up quickly. "Do you need a hand? I didn't realize you had so much hair..." Truth be told, he wanted suddenly to run his fingers through that hair
"Smoke ninja don't cut their hair." Kami told him. "I'm told my mother's hair dragged the ground several feet behind her. Um... if you'd like to help me we could go outside..."
"It would be an honor." Kano told her, pressing the hand holding the comb to his heart and bowing deeply to her
"You do not have to bow all the time Kano." Kami said smiling, leading him to the back door. Out here there were hundreds of small trees, mostly decorative and flowering, but with some minor uses. Mostly people bought these to decorate their homes and yards, but Kami loved having lunch out here. It was cool and shady.
"To bow is to show respect and honor." Kano told her as he looked around at the flowers. "I can see why you enjoy it here." He whispered, not wanting to break the serenity of the place
"It is nice to know that you respect and honor me." Kami said, sitting down at the picnic table. "But I see the top of your head more often than I do your face."
"Then I will try not to bow so much. Since you request it." Kano told her with a smile. He walked over to the table and looked at the mass of her hair. "What is it that you need me to do?"
"You don't have to." Kami said. "I noticed Hana eavesdropping and thought we needed some privacy."
"Maybe I want to?" Kano asked her with a smile, moving beside her.
"Oh... ok..." Kami felt that squirming feeling she usually felt when Kano said something sweet or off guard. "Start at the bottom." She said. "That's where most of the tangles are."
"O..ok." Kano said with a smile. He sat himself down on the ground at her feet and gently took a hold of her hair. He pulled the end of the massively flowing lochs onto his lap and started to comb it
"I appreciate this Kano." Kami said, feeling almost like she were tricking him. In her village, letting a boy comb a girls hair was a way of telling the boy she liked him... She knew Kano didn't know what this meant and she didn't have the heart to tell him.
"It is an honor, Kami." Kano told her as he combed. In his own village, they had similar traditions. It wasn't as simple as combing some hair, but more so simply doing something to show his affection.
Kami began to understand the significance of this ritual as Kano slowly combed her hair. The silence was thick and she kept thinking of something to say, but if she couldn't feel comfortable with this sort of intimate closeness, it would take a lot longer to become comfortable with him in other sorts of intimate situations.
The silence unnerved Kano, but for the first time in his life, he found himself unable to break it. He simply continued to comb the tangles from her ebony lochs. He didn't know if she could see the color on his cheeks or not, but he sure could feel it. He didn't mind though, he was comfortable with how he felt for her, he just wished that he could actually tell her.
"So..." Kami said, trying to break the silence, but other than that, she could think of nothing to say.
"Sooo...." Kano replied, "It must take you a long time to clean all of this." He felt like smacking himself in the head after saying that. It sounded ridiculous.
"A bit." Kami said agreeing. "It has been interesting getting used to indoor plumbing for the task. Oita's tub is not as expansive as the creek I used to use back home. There there was a current to drag it downstream. It was much easier."
"I'd imagine, but how did you get it dry?" Kano couldn't help but ask such a silly question. If she used the flowing waters of a creek to wash it, what in the world did she use to dry
"Here it is much more difficult. I lay it out over the table in Oita's back yard and let the sun dry it." Kami told him. "Back home I had a friend who was wind type. We would often help with each others hair. She would dry mine and she liked her's frizzy so I would give it a little zap."
Kano looked at her in disbelief. "Seriously?" He had to hold back a laugh, "That's awesome."
Kami smiled. "Now it's such a burden... I was considering cutting it... but I don't know that I really want to." There were also certain spiritual implications should she decide to cut it.
"So no women in your village ever cut their hair?" Kano asked as he worked on her tangles. This was taking a long time.
"Not really." Kami told him. "Unless of course there's an outbreak of lice or mites... but that hasn't happened for generations and then it was only due to wandering rice peddlers... we didn't buy any rice..."
"That's incredible." Kano told her, "Not that I mind or anything, but am I almost finished?"
"Do you see any spiderwebs?" Kami asked. "If not then yes."
Kano chuckled at that, it sounded much like a joke, but he knew she wasn't kidding about it either. "I don't see any." He told her and set down the comb. He leaned back against the table, her hair still covering his lap.
Kami leaned up till she was sitting upright again. Her hair spilled off his lap and she pulled it up, wrapping the band she had put on her wrist around the first layer. She made a small bun and pulled the band tight until she wrapped the majority of the length around that smaller bun, making a bigger one. She finished by pulling the last of the ends through the band and tied it off tightly. Finally finished she sighed and smiled. "There, back to normal. Now, why did you come see me again?"
"I sorta bought something for you, from the proceeds of the last mission." Kano explained, motioning to the box he had left on the side of the table.
"You didn't have to do that." Kami said fluffing out the ends of her hair so they spiked up in the way she liked.
"I know I didn't have to." Kano said, getting to his feet and picking up the box. He handed it over to her and smiled, "But I wanted to."
Kami took the box and looked it over for a moment. "I didn't get you anything..." She said remorsefully. "I should get you something first." She told him. "It's not right that you give me something for nothing."
"You let me comb your hair, I would consider that a treasure." Kano offered, hoping it would compensate enough
Kami visibly blushed when he said that. "I... um..." She continued to stammer, not knowing what to say.
"Well, go on and open it already." Kano insisted, growing a bit uncomfortable with the silence.
"Alright alright." Kami said with a smile. She slipped the lid off the box and looked at a pair of leg weights. "Oh Kano!" She said with a smile. "The next set! This was far too thoughtful of you. You really shouldn't have."
"I knew you were going to be needing them soon." Kano told her, scratching the back of his head
"Are these compartments for more weight?" Kami asked, examining the leg weights.
Kano nodded with a smile. "Yep, that way you won't have to buy a new set of harnesses when you go to the next weight class. You'll just be able to slide more weights right in."
"Kano, this is too much." Kami told him. "I cannot accept this without giving you something in return."
This was it, Kano thought. He swallowed hard and spit it out without really thinking the whole thing over, "How 'bout a kiss?"
Kami's reaction to Kano's suggestion was gradual, but rapid at the same time. First she stiffened, the bottom dropped out of her stomach and her heart began to thunder loud enough that she swore he could hear it. While all this happened she steadily began to grow red from the toes up. She was blushing, not a bright hearty pink but the most brazen of embarrassed reds. She didn't even have enough motor function to stammer properly.
Kano's own face was blushing as well. He couldn't believe that he had asked for that...
"Um..." Kami didn't know what to say. She was far too young to be kissing boys. "Kano... I..." She wanted to kiss him, but she was far too cowardly.
Kano's heart was pounding in his chest. He was certain she'd be able to hear. Maybe even see it, that was, if she would just look at him....
Kami turned her eyes towards him and saw how nervous he was. If he didn't like her he wouldn't have asked and he was making a very big gesture by even asking. She couldn't tell him no. Quickly she leaned in, kissed him on the cheek and pulled back redder than the roses planted a few feet away.
Kano felt his heart leap through his chest when she kissed him. On the cheek wasn't exactly what he had in mind, but it was more than enough to do him in. His hand moved to his cheek and covered it delicately. He felt as if he were going to fall over backwards and faint.
"Thank you Kano." Kami said, still blushing. "Though I hardly think a kiss is worth such an extravagant gift as this."
"Says you." Kano told her quietly. He was still blushing wildly.
Kami cleared her throat. They needed something to break this uneasiness. "Kano... um... I should..." She wanted to tell him that she should concentrate on her training, but she really wanted to see if they could have a relationship, but she wasn't sure she could say that. "I should... get back to work..."
"Yeah...yeah...alright..." Kano stammered, his hand rubbing the back of his head. Now he had done it, he'd scared her off. Just like El warned him not to do...why didn't he listen?
"Thank you Kano." Kami told him sincerely. "This is one of the finest gifts anyone could give me."
Kano smiled sheepishly, "Just put 'em to good use, ok? I'll letcha get back to work then.."
"I will." Kami told him honestly. "Again..." She leaned forward and kissed him softly on the cheek a second time. "Thank you..." Her face was beat red again when she pulled away.
Another kiss on the cheek?? Kano couldn't believe it. He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back to him, planting his lips to hers in a heartbeat
Kami's eyes were wide open, her pupils tiny pinpricks with shock. He... her... they... awe forget it. Kami turned to mush in Kano's arms and he could probably feel every bone in her body relax to the point that he might even have to support her.
Kano slipped his hands around to her back and held her to him. He broke the kiss slowly and looked at her, "Now I'd say we're even." He smirked, profoundly pleased with himself for making such a bold move, but scared at the same time. He hoped it wasn't too bold
She was sure he could feel her heartbeat thundering through her clothes. Kami didn't know what to do or say, but it was obvious from the expression in her eyes that she probably wouldn't mind if he did it again.
Kano looked into those eyes of hers and he was pretty sure that she could see his own heart beating through his chest. It took him a minute to look away, but he was smiling. "So I guess I should let you get back to work?"
"Huh?" Kami asked, her eyes still glazed over. "Work... I should get back to..."
"Or maybe I should point out that your employer said I could have you the rest of the day. I sorta took your sensei's advice and brought her a gift." Kano explained with a smirk, the thought of leaving her after doing that wasn't settling very nicely with him
Kami just couldn't do it. Her system was in shock, or overdrive, or something. She was flushed beat red and could hardly speak. "I..." She didn't want to lie to Kano, but she couldn't bare to be in the same place as him any longer. She needed to get away from him and calm down. "I..." If only her mind would work and help her think up an excuse.
Kano sighed and looked back at the door. "I...I guess I'll letcha get back to work then, Kami. Enjoy the weights."
"I will..." Kami told him, but she was still a little too stunned to say much more.
Uncomfortable with the stretching silence, Kano smiled and waved goodbye to her before turning and heading back into the main part of the greenhouse. He saw her employer and waved to her. "See? Told you it wouldn't take too long."
Once he was gone Kami's legs finally gave out and she thudded onto the bench. Kano had kissed her...
Hana was half way through her box of chocolates already. She stopped mid turtle to smile at Kano. "Hope everything went well..." She said with a cheeky grin.
"That all depends on her, I guess." Kano told her with a shrug. "Enjoy the chocolates, Ms. Hana." He smiled and bowed his head to her
"Such a good boy." Hana said quietly once Kano had gone.
Kami was still sitting on the bench in the back. Too stunned to do much of anything.
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