[Fic] Naruto, Small Gestures
Title: Small Gestures
Characters: Rin, Naruto's mother (OC)
Rating: Uhh, PG-13? Someone's thinkin' about sex. Also, brief discussion of medic stuff.
Summary: Rin asks what's the nicest thing Yondaime has done for his...lady friend. She gets a kind of odd answer. Less than 1,000 words.
Notes: 1) I had planned a 10-part story starting from around Yondaime's birthday and ending around Naruto's. It's approximately 9 months. Part one is taking forever, so here's part seven or eight. 2) The OC is "nee-san" because Naruto's mother doesn't have a name. She's not actually Rin's older sister, though. She's a shinobi currently on a combination of major injury and maternity leave. 3) I'm a better "crack" writer than a serious writer, so if it clunks, that's my excuse.
ETA: Oops. I forgot that sna32 already has a lovely series called "Girl Talk." I changed my title. Sorry Sna!
"Nee-san?"
"Hmm?"
"What's the...nicest thing sensei ever did for you?"
Nee-san had to think about that one. It wasn't that he didn't do nice things for her. He did, but they were ordinary things, candy because it was Tuesday (although he always ate half), wrapping her ankles before her missions (if he was home), watering the plants she never asked for (but liked anyway), never giving her a cheap win when they sparred, things like that.
"He cut my hair,” she said, after a long pause. Rin gave her a weird look.
"When he first started, uh, dropping by," nee-san explained, "I decided to grow my hair out." She laughed a little. "That was a long time ago. It was really the only thing I ever did to 'look pretty' for him." She laughed again. "What is the saying? 'You can tell a kunoichi by the way she swings her fists and forgets her hips?'"
Rin laughed too. It was a common if unkind thing to say about the village's female shinobi, although sometimes it was true.
"I don't know who I heard it from, but I heard that he liked long hair," she said. "It'll be the easiest thing to do, I thought. Just let it all grow out. Anyway, a lot of guys like long hair. Don't even think about it, Rin," she said as Rin unconsciously reached up to touch her own hair.
Rin's smile was a little guilty. "I know, nee-san," she said. "They tell the girl medics to keep our hair short. It's so it doesn’t contaminate the wounds when we bend over a patient."
She said it so matter-of-factly that nee-san couldn't help but grimace.
"And if your hair gets bloody and gory, you could transfer infection and bacteria from patient to patient," Rin finished.
"Rin, it's not nice to horrify pregnant women," nee-san half teased.
"Oh," she said. “I'm sorry. So, um, why did sensei cut your hair?"
Nee-san drew a breath as the baby kicked. "After that last mission, I couldn't take care of it," she said. "You don't think about it, but you need both arms and both hands to brush long hair, and my left arm was a total wreck." Even now, the shoulder was still stiff and the fingers still wouldn’t bend smoothly or completely. "But I was determined to keep my hair long."
"For sensei?" Rin said.
"Yeah," she said with a sad smile that she forced into a smirk. "Well, I had nice hair too," she said making a silly, vampy face. Rin smiled. "Healthy and thick. You get proud of the strangest things sometimes. But when you’ve only got one working hand, it's just a hell of a lot of tangles and rat's nests." She frowned at the memory.
"So he walks in on me throwing the hairbrush because I just can't do it. I was so tired of being like this. So mad that I got like this in the first place. So useless that I can't even brush my own hair." She looked at Rin, who was always tactful enough not to say, "well, at least you're alive."
"And he doesn't say anything," she continued. "He just looks at me, and I look at him. It takes forever, and we're just staring at each other. And then he sits down next to me, still not saying anything, pulls my hair back and holds in his hand, rat’s nests and all. And then he says, 'cut it off?' and all I can do is nod, because, you know what? That sounded absolutely wonderful. He actually used his kunai and just cut it all off," she said with a wave of her hand. "And then he says, ‘I'll miss it, but I hate to see you frustrated.'"
Rin smiled.
"And that’s the story."
"Nee-san," said Rin.
"Hmm?"
"That's not very romantic," the girl complained.
"You're not going to get much romance from people who kill other people for a living," nee-san said, making a face. "And you shouldn't be thinking of your sensei like that anyway." She shook a finger at the girl.
"Well, I'm in charge of helping with sensei's baby, so of course I'm a little curious about this other side of him" Rin said. Bold words, but she still blushed furiously through her giggles.
"Rin!" Nee-san tried to act shocked, but ended up laughing as well. "You definitely shouldn't be thinking about him like that! And you didn't say 'romantic' you said 'nice.' I told you your nice story, so be happy." And they both laughed.
Yes, she told the story. It was a good story, one appropriate for a 13-year-old girl's ears, no matter how curious she was.
What nee-san didn't tell Rin was how she found out years ago on her first night with him how inconvenient long hair could be, how between the kisses, touches and soft sounds, there had been unexpected giggles as her hair got caught in strange places and tickled at inopportune moments. She didn't tell of how almost every time after that began with his hand at her waist and "tie up your hair" in her ear. She didn't explain that she kept her hair long just to hear him say it, that she loved their little ritual. She didn't tell of how after he'd cut her hair, he'd rested his cheek on her exposed neck, still a bit sweaty from her tantrum. And how he chuckled a naughty little chuckle and said "And now I won't have to wait." And all she could do was laugh.
No, she wanted to keep that between the two of them.
She looked at Rin. "After the baby is born," she said, touching her hair, "I think I’ll let it grow out again." After all, rituals were a good thing.
As was patience.
~~~
Brownie points to anyone who can find the reference to a Cake song.
There's a tense change there, but that's because nee-san has a weird way of telling stories. Let me know if it's too weird.
And, yeah, I had the Sakura hair thing in mind when I wrote this. But there are differences.
Characters: Rin, Naruto's mother (OC)
Rating: Uhh, PG-13? Someone's thinkin' about sex. Also, brief discussion of medic stuff.
Summary: Rin asks what's the nicest thing Yondaime has done for his...lady friend. She gets a kind of odd answer. Less than 1,000 words.
Notes: 1) I had planned a 10-part story starting from around Yondaime's birthday and ending around Naruto's. It's approximately 9 months. Part one is taking forever, so here's part seven or eight. 2) The OC is "nee-san" because Naruto's mother doesn't have a name. She's not actually Rin's older sister, though. She's a shinobi currently on a combination of major injury and maternity leave. 3) I'm a better "crack" writer than a serious writer, so if it clunks, that's my excuse.
ETA: Oops. I forgot that sna32 already has a lovely series called "Girl Talk." I changed my title. Sorry Sna!
"Nee-san?"
"Hmm?"
"What's the...nicest thing sensei ever did for you?"
Nee-san had to think about that one. It wasn't that he didn't do nice things for her. He did, but they were ordinary things, candy because it was Tuesday (although he always ate half), wrapping her ankles before her missions (if he was home), watering the plants she never asked for (but liked anyway), never giving her a cheap win when they sparred, things like that.
"He cut my hair,” she said, after a long pause. Rin gave her a weird look.
"When he first started, uh, dropping by," nee-san explained, "I decided to grow my hair out." She laughed a little. "That was a long time ago. It was really the only thing I ever did to 'look pretty' for him." She laughed again. "What is the saying? 'You can tell a kunoichi by the way she swings her fists and forgets her hips?'"
Rin laughed too. It was a common if unkind thing to say about the village's female shinobi, although sometimes it was true.
"I don't know who I heard it from, but I heard that he liked long hair," she said. "It'll be the easiest thing to do, I thought. Just let it all grow out. Anyway, a lot of guys like long hair. Don't even think about it, Rin," she said as Rin unconsciously reached up to touch her own hair.
Rin's smile was a little guilty. "I know, nee-san," she said. "They tell the girl medics to keep our hair short. It's so it doesn’t contaminate the wounds when we bend over a patient."
She said it so matter-of-factly that nee-san couldn't help but grimace.
"And if your hair gets bloody and gory, you could transfer infection and bacteria from patient to patient," Rin finished.
"Rin, it's not nice to horrify pregnant women," nee-san half teased.
"Oh," she said. “I'm sorry. So, um, why did sensei cut your hair?"
Nee-san drew a breath as the baby kicked. "After that last mission, I couldn't take care of it," she said. "You don't think about it, but you need both arms and both hands to brush long hair, and my left arm was a total wreck." Even now, the shoulder was still stiff and the fingers still wouldn’t bend smoothly or completely. "But I was determined to keep my hair long."
"For sensei?" Rin said.
"Yeah," she said with a sad smile that she forced into a smirk. "Well, I had nice hair too," she said making a silly, vampy face. Rin smiled. "Healthy and thick. You get proud of the strangest things sometimes. But when you’ve only got one working hand, it's just a hell of a lot of tangles and rat's nests." She frowned at the memory.
"So he walks in on me throwing the hairbrush because I just can't do it. I was so tired of being like this. So mad that I got like this in the first place. So useless that I can't even brush my own hair." She looked at Rin, who was always tactful enough not to say, "well, at least you're alive."
"And he doesn't say anything," she continued. "He just looks at me, and I look at him. It takes forever, and we're just staring at each other. And then he sits down next to me, still not saying anything, pulls my hair back and holds in his hand, rat’s nests and all. And then he says, 'cut it off?' and all I can do is nod, because, you know what? That sounded absolutely wonderful. He actually used his kunai and just cut it all off," she said with a wave of her hand. "And then he says, ‘I'll miss it, but I hate to see you frustrated.'"
Rin smiled.
"And that’s the story."
"Nee-san," said Rin.
"Hmm?"
"That's not very romantic," the girl complained.
"You're not going to get much romance from people who kill other people for a living," nee-san said, making a face. "And you shouldn't be thinking of your sensei like that anyway." She shook a finger at the girl.
"Well, I'm in charge of helping with sensei's baby, so of course I'm a little curious about this other side of him" Rin said. Bold words, but she still blushed furiously through her giggles.
"Rin!" Nee-san tried to act shocked, but ended up laughing as well. "You definitely shouldn't be thinking about him like that! And you didn't say 'romantic' you said 'nice.' I told you your nice story, so be happy." And they both laughed.
Yes, she told the story. It was a good story, one appropriate for a 13-year-old girl's ears, no matter how curious she was.
What nee-san didn't tell Rin was how she found out years ago on her first night with him how inconvenient long hair could be, how between the kisses, touches and soft sounds, there had been unexpected giggles as her hair got caught in strange places and tickled at inopportune moments. She didn't tell of how almost every time after that began with his hand at her waist and "tie up your hair" in her ear. She didn't explain that she kept her hair long just to hear him say it, that she loved their little ritual. She didn't tell of how after he'd cut her hair, he'd rested his cheek on her exposed neck, still a bit sweaty from her tantrum. And how he chuckled a naughty little chuckle and said "And now I won't have to wait." And all she could do was laugh.
No, she wanted to keep that between the two of them.
She looked at Rin. "After the baby is born," she said, touching her hair, "I think I’ll let it grow out again." After all, rituals were a good thing.
As was patience.
~~~
Brownie points to anyone who can find the reference to a Cake song.
There's a tense change there, but that's because nee-san has a weird way of telling stories. Let me know if it's too weird.
And, yeah, I had the Sakura hair thing in mind when I wrote this. But there are differences.