A Promise Kept: Takumi Vs. Hishime.

[Hishime]

The young woman smiled slightly when he turned to look at her. She looked away, feeling rather nervous out of a sudden. She found herself lost of words, nothing came into her mind. The reason why, that was also still a mystery. And she guessed it would be that way for ever. It wasn’t like it was important, far from it to be more exact, but it confused her. And according to her host’s reaction, it seemed like he didn’t quite understand either, just like she’d expected.

‘Are you hungry, Yu--’ The man suddenly stopped, right in the middle of his sentence. It was suspicious. Obviously, he was planning to say her ‘name’, but for some reason didn’t finish it. It almost felt like that name didn’t exist any more. And, actually, that was the truth. It had never really existed in the first place, but now it was also something that didn’t had to be necessarily used.

‘You must be, it’s been a good while since you’ve eaten. I’ll go ahead and make something right away.’

Yes. Now she thought about it, she actually was pretty hungry. She hadn’t eaten anything since last night. No breakfast. No lunch. A full stomach would be very nice, she supposed. Besides, she would need the energy later. Knowing the period of staying would probably be shortened, it would be wise to be prepared to leave at any moment.

The man silently stood and made his way to the door. A strange kind of smile was on his lips as he faced her once more. It wasn’t his usual smile, this one was different. In fact, it didn’t look happy at all. It seemed like no positive emotions were shown in that laugh. It made her own feeling change. That motherly feeling, like she had had before, was back. There was obviously something on his mind, and it probably wasn’t something nice. Wait... Could it be--? The way his voice sounded when he suddenly stopped speaking while in the middle of her name, maybe that was it. Perhaps he was sad because he still had no name.

The kunoichi bit her lip slightly. That could be it, it was possible. And, if it was, would it be best to already tell him? It had been a while since their match. But it didn’t feel right telling it now, it was too soon. Yet, something inside her was telling her that there was nothing to fear. That he was one trustworthy. But, it was that fear that held her back. That stopped her from telling him the truth. The fear that was always so carefully hidden behind her gentle smile, seemed to be revealed quicker than she’d thought.

“Is there something wrong?” She girl spoke softly, secretly hoping that it wouldn’t be audible for her fellow shinobi, but that would be very unlikely, she guessed. “You look so unhappy out of a sudden.”

[Kirihara Takumi]

“Is there something wrong? You look so unhappy out of a sudden.”

"It's nothing you need to worry about... Anyway, now's not the time. I'll be back with some food shortly - Just ring if you need me." Takumi bowed slightly and closed the door halfway, his soft footsteps making their way to the kitchen.

"Now then..." he thought to himself, pushing everything else out of his mind. "What should I make...?"

[Hishime]

The kunoichi lowered her head slightly, the smile fading from her lips at the reaction he gave her. There was obviously something wrong. But, if he didn’t want to tell her, there was no way forcing him. Also, something caught her eye. Leaving so suddenly, completely out of nowhere; it reminded her herself. It was something she would’ve done. Always when there was just too much on her mind, she would go for a walk, or just search for a place where she could be alone for a moment. It was suspicious, it felt strange. It made her feel... worried...

Hishime inhaled deeply, biting down hard on her lip as she tried to lay back down on the bed. Doing her best to keep herself from groaning, she also tried her hardest to ignore the incredible pain in her body. She was still unable to move her left arm, which would cause more problems for sure. She would have to take a look at it later.

A loud groan filled the once silent room as she hit the mattress with a soft thud. The shinobi shut her tired eyes, panting softly, arms laying limply to her sides. Yes, she was tired, she was in pain. But, that was not what was on her mind at the moment. She wanted to know what was wrong, why he had left so suddenly, everything... Was it her fault? Was she the one who caused him to leave?

[Kirihara Takumi]

(ooc: Sorry about the vague time-skip, but I don't actually know how to cook, or even how long it takes... XD)

It took a while, but at last Takumi was done. Kayu and miso soup sat steaming before him, along with yet another batch of hot tea. Even in the girl's weakened state, a meal like this shouldn't be much trouble to get down. Now that he'd finished cooking, however, the shadows crept over his mind once more... When would she be ready to give her name? Would he be forced to demand it, to claim his right to it as victor? It was obvious that he had won... but it still didn't feel right for him to ask.

"Why, though?" he wondered. "I confronted her about it before... why should it be so hard now, when I've earned the right to it?"

Carrying the food upon a tray, Takumi walked back to the bedroom, taking a deep breath to calm himself and clear his mind before entering.

[Hishime]

“Hello, sweetheart. Have you slept well?” A low, male voice rang through the dark basement. It was empty, no furniture, nothing. The only light came from a small candle that stood in the corner of the room. In it’s shadows, a thin silhouette was visible. A tall man stood in the doorway. Arms crossed, and smirk on his face, watching the little girl in the corner with amused eyes. A weird scent lingered around him; alcohol...

The girl lifted her head, terrified green eyes darting around the room, searching for wherever the voice might come from. Cold tears ran down her cheeks, leaving barely visible trails. Her shaking arms were tightly wrapped around her knees, as if trying to protect herself.

“Hishime?” The ‘prisoner’ inhaled silently. The little clothing that she had been wearing was almost completely torn off her small body. Her shirt, that was once pure white colored, was now covered with dirt, and partly ripped. Her pants, were nowhere in sight. A still warm, thick liquid slowly spread over the freezing, hard floor, coming from between her legs. Biting her lip softly, she turned her eyes away from the male.

“Father...” Her voice trembled as she spoke quietly. “Why?”

The woman’s eyes shot open. Sweat shining on her brow and lips trembling. Her heavy panting filled the quiet room. It took her a little while to realize where she was, and that it had just been one of the usual nightmares. Scared eyes staring up at the white ceiling, chest aching with every breath she took. She swallowed, though her mouth was completely dry and there wasn’t much to swallow. Inhaling deeply, she tried not to let her thought drift off to the bad side of her memories.

The door quietly opened, and once again, her host entered the room. The female didn’t bother to look at him, already positive that he would mean no harm, at least not right now. Closing her eyes for a couple of seconds, she spoke with a soft and barely audible voice.

“Did you have any trouble?”

[Kirihara Takumi]

"Did you have any trouble?" the girl asked quietly. With a little smile, Takumi shook his head.

"None at all. Er... that is, nothing I noticed... I'm not exactly the best cook in the world..." he said softly, looking sheepishly down at the food he carried. "Still, I think I did all right..."

Taking a seat beside her once more, he noticed the sweat that glistened on her brow. Surely it wasn't from the heat - even indoors, it wasn't actually that warm...

"Are... you okay? You don't look so good..."

[Hishime]

(OOC: I'm afraid that I have no more energy left. So, I'll be back tomorrow. )

Hishime took a quick glance at him as he positioned himself next to her. With eyes only partly opened, and tiredness written all over her face, she smiled softly at him. She had no idea if he was a good cook or not. But she would eat it anyway, no matter what it tasted like. Besides, if the smell was anything to judge by, it wasn’t too bad.

‘Are you okay? You don’t look so good.’ This was the point where the little smile almost vanished. To cover it up, she yawned slightly, giving her a short amount of time to put the smile back on. Why was he asking? Did she look that bad? Was it so obvious there was something on her mind? That there were things that worried her?

“Well, thank you.” The girl replied, eyebrow raised. She refused to answer his question, and just blew it away like it meant nothing, like she had done before. She didn’t want to tell him about that. She couldn't...

[Kirihara Takumi]

(ooc: Okay, but tomorrow might be the last day I can actually do anything on here... I'm leaving sometime tomorrow, if I'm not mistaken, and then I'm gone for a long time... )

"Well, thank you."

"Ah! No, I didn't mean... That is, you look very good, it's just-- Wait, I mean...!" Takumi was flustered, his face starting to go red again. She must have thought he was insulting her appearance! But when he tried to correct himself, it felt like it'd come off as though he was attracted to her, and...

"And what?" Takumi closed his eyes and sighed. He really didn't know...

"Sorry... Here, you should eat..."

[Hishime]

(OOC: Yes, I know. That's why I'm trying to get as much RPing done as possible. But with the difference in time, it's a bit difficult. )

‘No! I didn’t mean.. That is, you look very good, it’s just--’ Hishime smirked mentally at this reaction, knowing that her attempt to avoid answering that question had just succeeded. ‘Wait, I mean...!’

The female smiled up at him, cheeks coloring with a light pink. To be honest, this was exactly what she’d expected. People always gave this kind of reaction, it was almost amusing. So, he thought she looked very good? It sounded a bit odd, in her opinion. Not that it really mattered, it just caught her attention.

‘Sorry... Here, you should eat...’ Takumi said, obviously feeling a little bit nervous after that comment.

Not being able to get a hold on herself, she thought of a way to tease him a bit more. The girl turned her head to the right, gaze moving to the tray in his hands. A small grin crossed her with pink shaded face.

“Well, yes. That looks very good.”

[Kirihara Takumi]

“Well, yes. That looks very good," the girl replied with a small grin.

Now entirely unsure of himself, Takumi remained silent as he held the meal out for her.

"I probably look silly for doing this, too. On top of that, this food selection, and what I said earlier, and..." Insecurities flooded his head, completely distracting Takumi as he sat beside his guest, the blush still burning upon his cheeks.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" he groaned under his breath, not realizing that he'd said it aloud.

[Hishime]

The young man’s cheeks seemed to flush with a slightly darker shade of the magenta that had now completely covered his normal, fairly pale, skin-color. He gave no more verbal responses, probably even more embarrassed by now. He simply held the tray out to her, his long sleeves sliding down part of his arms, exposing the hard muscles and blue veins covered by a layer of light beige. Hishime stared at his face for a moment, the soft grin slowly fading while her expression became more serious again. Then, suddenly, her ocean-green eyes traveled down to the food in his hands, unable to stop the tiniest smile from crossing her lips.

The female kunoichi could clearly hear her fellow shinobi mutter a strange phrase, obviously subconsciously. Stupid, that were the words she could make out from his barely understandable mumbles. Now it was clear to her; she had embarrassed him more than necessary. Perhaps she had gone a little too far.

“Sorry, Takumi-san...” She whispered quietly, her soft feminine voice seeming to be louder in the awfully quiet room, colliding to the walls and nearly echoing through the whole place. Her green jewels moved up to stare at the ceiling. “I have to apologize for my actions...”

Slowly, the girl moved her arms in a way to support her as she attempted to sit back up once again. She gasped slightly, her teeth clenching together at the sharp pain that struck through her injured body. It took a moment, seconds of struggling and trying to keep herself from groaning out loud, but she managed to succeed. The lightly colored blanket that was covering her slid down her upper body, falling soundlessly on her lap, revealing her pale skin and the few scars that were visible in the lack of light. As quick as lightning, her arms raised up to cover herself. It wasn’t like it had any meaning at this moment, seeing that he had already seen her half naked, but that didn’t push away the feeling of slight shame.

“And, if I remember correctly, we had made a deal, am I correct?” She asked quietly. One hand took hold of the blanket on her lap, and lifted it up to cover her chest, then reached out for the tray of food. Her arm was twisted in a rare way, the inside of her wrist turned away from his eyesight as much as possible in an attempt to hide the large scars. She took the tray in a delicate hand, lifting it gracefully and pulling it towards her only to place in on her thighs. She eyed the food for a long time, seeming to study it while in fact, she was only thinking that one decision through. It was only fair, that much was known to the both of us. She had been trying to keep that one thing a secret, but now that he had won – defeated her, or at least he thought so – she guessed she didn’t have much other choice.

[Kirihara Takumi]

“Sorry, Takumi-san... I have to apologize for my actions...”

Takumi watched as the girl struggled to sit up, half-tempted to help her, but after a few seemingly painful second, she succeeded. The blanket that covered her slipped away, but she raised her arms to hide herself almost faster than he could follow. It was the scars, he was sure. Even though he'd seen them before, she obviously didn't want him seeing them again.

“And, if I remember correctly, we had made a deal, am I correct?”

Lifting the blanket to cover her chest, she reached out awkwardly for her food, doing her best to hide her scars. She studied the food for a long time - Did she think it was poisoned? Or maybe she was just going to tease him about his cooking... Takumi took a breath to refocus himself and nodded.

"Yes... we did have a deal..." A sense of calm seriousness washed over Takumi's features, the embarrassment fading away. "Does this mean you're ready to give me your name... your real name?"

[Hishime]

‘Yes... we did have a deal...’ Takumi’s voice cut off the awkward silence that had managed to sneak in just after she had finished her one last phrase. She could clearly notice his body language growing more serious now that they were continuing one of their former topics. ‘Does this mean you’re ready to give me your name... your real name?’

The question came harder than she had expected. It was only now that she noticed what that one thing meant to her. She had almost forgot about the danger that would surely come out of the shadows if her name was dropped. And if they would even get to know that she was currently staying at this shinobi’s place, she would surely have to fight them for as much as that was possible. And at the state she was in now, which was all her own fault, she was positive that she wouldn’t be able to do much to defend herself.

Carefully, the female reached for the chopsticks in front of her, laying innocently on the trap on her lap. She played with them in her hand for a moment, spinning them gracefully in between her fingers while she stared off in thoughts. Was it really a smart thing to do?

“I am never ready for any of this...” She said quietly, allowing herself a quick glance at the young man. Her eyes were drawn to his without any struggle, scanning for any hints that could give away his thoughts. Her own expression was almost blank at this moment, clueless and perhaps even worried. It was a risk she was taking. After a few seconds of looking into his eyes, she looked at the food again, simply taking something and popping it in her dry mouth. She smiled lightly. It wasn’t that bad.

“Fairly good, I have to admit...” She whispered, tone more silent than the other time she had spoken. It was more a mumble to herself, actually.

[Kirihara Takumi]

Takumi watched quietly as the girl twirled the chopsticks in her hand. She was obviously deep in thought, and all he could do was wait.

“I am never ready for any of this...”

A hint of concern fell upon Takumi's face. 'Any of this'...

The girl ate a little of the food and mumbled something with a faint smile, too quiet for him to hear. At the very least, it appeared that she approved of her meal... Takumi waited patiently for a better answer to his question; He would have liked to ask what she thought of his cooking, but he couldn't afford to change the topic. She'd most likely try to use it to avoid giving her name for a while longer if he did... This was definitely not something she wanted to give up, deal or no.

"But really... why to I want to know so badly? For that matter, why didn't I just turn her in from the start? Why did I offer to keep her in my home? What is it about this girl that made me want to be her ally...?" Now Takumi, too, was deep in thought, his deep blue eyes staring off into space. It was all so strange... yet in his heart, he didn't feel like he was taking the wrong path. "Her ally... and maybe..."

"... friend..." Takumi absently whispered, so quietly that he didn't even notice that he had.

[Hishime]

Another silence filled the room. Hishime ate soundlessly, deep in thoughts and trying to plan a few steps ahead. She couldn’t help but wonder what was going through Takumi’s mind. Was he plotting something, or was he just thinking the whole situation through like she did? She was unsure, and afraid that if she would permit herself to one quick glance at his face, she would give away a small hint of her carefully hidden fright. Then, suddenly and without much reason, one single word left his lips, and Hishime couldn’t stop herself from looking at him this time.
Friend.

That was the one words he whispered. A lump for in the back of her throat, her breath caught. She simply stared into his blue eyes, shocked but curious. Was that what he was thinking about; friendship? Her head tilted slightly to the side in confusion, her lips parted. She placed the chopsticks back on the plate of food, lifting her now free hand to run her fingers through her thick, black locks.

“After all the things you’ve done for me...” She started slowly, carefully. “Am I allowed to consider you my friend?”