[Log] "Adoption Proceedures" [Aki & Tenzouko]
It was just an aboslutely, wonderful, glorious day. Sunny, breezy and way too nice to be stuck in an office. Aki was skipping out on work and was unfortuantely alone - as the Paper Dolls had recently been reunited and probably needed girl talk time or some such thing - but it would not be for long.
Using his amazing ninja skills (which totally included snooping around Ibiko's desk) he'd found out where a certain ANBU agent lived and she was about to get a day out.
Whether she wanted it or not.
Big grin in place, Aki knocked on the door.
It really was an absolutely, wonderful and glorious day. Tenzouko had just been sleeping through all of it so far. She was on a Day Off. Time was Tenzouko looked at that word on the roster and took it as a personal insult, but ever since Shizuya and everything it seemed normal life was catching up on her. Instead of pitching a silent glarey-fit at the Hokage's Palace, she'd actually not minded and sauntered home to have a nice long sleep.
So it was she woke up on her couch, still in her pjs, and padded eagerly to the door still rubbing at her eyes. A knock at her door? Well only a few people knew where she lived and would bother knocking: Asuka, Kakami or Shizuya.
Hoping it was Shizuya, she pulled open the unlocked door and found herself looking at somebody else entirely.
"Aki?" She blinked. "Hi."
"'Ello!" was the enthusiastic greeting.
Gray eyes looked her over briefly. She looked well - much better than that night in the forest. Good. Aki had decided to firmly adopt her and things were a lot more fun when the said adoptee wasn't in a seemingly bad mood or bad health.
Then again, she was home.
"Just thought I'd pop over and say 'hi' since its such a lovely day. You alright?"
Tenzouko blinked again. Then smiled a little. Aki.
"I'm fine. It's my day off so I was sleeping late... erh," she stepped aside, kicking her door a bit more open. "Would you like to come in?"
She was still a bit twingy about the kind of state she'd been in the last time he'd seen her. But it was nice to see his face again. And to not feel too on edge over it.
"Sure." Aki walked in, hands in the pockets of his long coat. He glanced around in a cursory manner before turning to her.
"Just vacation then?" Always a good thing to have. And it would be easier to drag her out for fun that way!
Nodding, Tenzouko followed him in and kicked her blankets off the couch and into a bundle behind it. There, now they had somewhere to sit. (It occurred to her that if Shizuya caught her being so scuffy he'd pitch a fit, and it made her smile.) She yawned slightly again and went to pull the blinds up and let even more light in. Dust motes swirled lazily in the air so she pushed the window open too.
"Just a day off. How about you? I guess you got a day off too, ne?"
She looked curiously at him, then hopped up to sit on the windowsill.
"Yup." He lied pretty easily. Aki knew he could get away with a day here and there of slipping out of the office - he knew better than to press his luck and stay away longer.
"And 'm rather bored. Came by to see if you fancied going out a bit."
Tenzouko brightened up even more at that. Going out? That sounded like a good plan, especially since she knew now that she was awake she'd be bored (and impatient) waiting around for either an emergency mission to come up, Sai to come harass her, or Shizuya to get out of work.
"Sure," she answered, reaching up to shove her mussy hair out her face. "Let me get some clothes on." Pushing off the sill, she crossed to her drawers and dug around for an outfit. Like Aki said, it was a nice day, and she did miss the sunshine. She pulled out a t-shirt and a pair of long beige shorts she couldn't ever remember wearing before. Gesturing to the sort-of-kitchen bit with a a tip of her head she hugged the bundle of clothes.
"Feel free to scavange for a snack or whatever, if there's anything. I'll be a minute or so."
"A'right!" Aki strolled to the kitchen and poked around for a bit. He didn't really eat anything - it was more of a swift inspection to see what she did eat and keep.
Once that curiosity was satisfied, he stood with his hands in his pockets, waiting. This would be fun.
Perhaps there was a little bit of a fear that the two of them would not get along, but Aki was pretty determined. And when Aki set his mind on something he generally went through hell and high water to get it.
Pulling on her outfit, Tenzouko paused a moment to glance at her new tattoo. Sai had designed and done it for her (last of all, as well, because even a bit tipsy Tenzouko had the presence of mind to wait til her apprentice had a good handle of the equipment before letting her use it on this ANBU taichou) and it was pretty cool if she didn't say so herself. If she didn't have anything else, Sai had a very certain grasp of artistry.
Tenzouko washed her face, dragged a brush through her spikey black hair, tied it up in a ponytail and scooped up a roll of bandages on her way out the tiny bathroom. Spotting Aki with his hands in his pockets she bit off a small line of the off-white fabric and started winding it around her ANBU tattoo. Her t-shirt sleeve was shorter than usual, and wouldn't hide it properly.
"So what's the plan?" she asked, glancing up from her arm. She was curious, now. And just a little bit... trepidous. Not that she was nervous or anything it was just... this was rather spontaneous for the likes of Tenzouko.
Maybe it was Aki's influence already.
He turned and grinned, again. She looked so very "normal" at the moment - another good sign.
"Thought we'd go get something to eat." His shoulders came up in a brief shrug. "Then just go where the mood takes us after that."
"Food is good," Tenzouko said automatically as she finished tying off the bandage. She gave the cupboards a slightly guilty look. "Been living off ration bars when I'm home lately."
"Ration bars?" Aki sounded horrified.
Ration bars were all well and fine for dismal moments on missions - they packed a great deal of energy and nutrients of course - but for every day use?
"We're getting you some good stuff." Aki said determinedly, a slight fire in his gray eyes. "And I mean good food."
Possibly rather bad for one as well. Aki's definition of 'good food' was not exactly 'good-for-you'.
Tenzouko had met Maito Gaia once, when the woman had flying-tackled Kakami-senpai in the street and begun bellowing about Challenges and Passionate Youth and other Capitalized Phoneomenae. Watching Aki's reaction to her 'ration bars' admission, Tenzouko found herself once again looking at a degree of fervour encroaching on that territory.
"Oh...kay," she offered in reply, carefully watching his face. "So where do we obtain this 'good food'?"
She said it like a mission confirmation, which it was.
Aki grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the apartment, still looking scarily determined. He knew pretty much where to find a bar/restuarant/tea house no matter what section of town he was in (it seemed to be some sort of scary second nature radar that led to Aki to places of amusement) and he was settling on a place in his head as they moved.
"How can you even live on those things?" He almost cringed. "Its like eating..." The man strove for a comparison. "Flavored cardboard!"
Yep. The Maito Gaia analogy was proving accurate enough. Tenzouko managed not to yelp as Aki tore out the apartment (and down the multitudinous flights of stairs) with her in tow, she even kept up, managing to answer his horrified question as they skidded through the overgrown surrounds of her apartment block and out into the sunlit streets.
"They're good enough for government work," she answered non-plussed. "Plus I've been--" and here was when not to say 'eating at Shizuya's house' so quickly think of something else-- "kind of unwealthy moment."
Which she hadn't quite meant to admit, but it was the reason true enough and anyway, it wasn't a big deal yet. So long as she had her ration bars.
"Unwealthy? What the hell did you spend your money on?" Rent couldn't be that expensive - and he'd seen the inside of her place.
He eyed her for a moment and then sighed. "Well, no worries about money. I'll be paying for anything we do today."
Tenzouko had been about to tell him she didn't exactly know where the money was going or had gone, and she was kind of confused about the matter, but then Aki knocked it out her mind and she gave him a thankful look.
"That's really generous, thank you, Aki," she said. She followed alongside him as they made their way down the street. It was just as nice a day as Aki had declared it to be, and Tenzouko was rather glad to be soaking up the sun on her very pale skin. She'd probably get a good tan, since even though she was so pale she never seemed to burn.
"So how have you been lately?" she asked, curious for his sake.
Aki shrugged her thanks off easily but grinned faintly all the same.
His grin got a little bigger at her question. "Very good!" Grin turned a little goofy. "Real good."
Just as long as this date went off well. And the one after that. Aki felt jittery about Izume still but rather happy.
Tenzouko was less surprised than she would have been a few weeks ago to realize that hearing that made her happy as well. Something about the off-center yet bright smile on his face made her smile just a little wider in return.
"That's good to hear," she replied. "It's nice that summer's here at last. It's cheered a lot of people up, even in HQ where we usually just work nights."
"Summer? Oh, right." Aki brushed his bangs from his face. Grinned again. "Right. The hot space that comes right out after spring."
He glanced about and then stated. "Nearly there." Slight eyeing of the ANBU. "So when does the vacation end?"
It took a moment for Tenzouko to work out that when Aki said 'vacation' he meant her not being at work. She looped her fingers through a belt loop on her shorts.
"It's just one day off," she told him, shrugging just a little bit. "Things aren't desperately busy and since I'm between commands just now it's acceptable for me to be given odd days off, apparently."
She glanced up at the rooftops and the sunlit steel chimney stacks, towards the half-visible shape of the Palace. A sudden twist of feeling as she wished Shizuya was with them, was with her, on a day like this. But she tore her eyes away and looked back to Aki.
"How about you? Are you on leave for something or is this just a lucky day to have a break?"
"Yeah. Well...heh, heh..." Aki scratched his head a tad sheepishly.
He shrugged. "Lucky day I guess. But enough about that. We need to get some real food into you."
Tenzouko's sideways glance at Aki's sheepishness was interrupted as they arrived at their destination. Or... well, she supposed somewhere in here had to be their destination. They were standing in the middle of a square lined with tea shops and restaurants and food stands and all manner of eateries.
"Wow," said Tenzouko quietly.
Her stomach joined in with a much louder growl and she peered down at it with a ticked look. Her organs better learn to behave.
"So... which one?" she asked.
"This way!"
He took her hand and this time managed to be more gentle as he pulled her to a little bar and grill. It was just before the lunch rush, so still somewhat empty. Aki went to the high counter and talked to one of the girls before he took Tenzouko to the back where there was an open patio. He settled himself at one of the wood tables and benches. "Okay, first off, do you have any preferences or are you really abnormal and really like ration bars?"
Once more tugged along by the hand, Tenzouko found herself wondering for a second why she didn't mind too much when it was Aki taking such liberties. She knew she didn't mind, because if she did she'd have broken his wrist by now so... she supposed he got a free pass on that. It felt different to run around like this but she guessed that was part of being around Aki.
And she meant to try to be around him a little more. She really did. They had shared history, but he had helped her and he'd apparently decided to carry on that way. She loved that quality in Shizuya, so she decided she would like it in Aki.
"Anything without meat in it," she told him, with a slight smile for the ration bars comment. "But I guess I am still really abnormal, because I do like ration bars."
They were the the equivalent of 'home cooking' for her, after all.
"No meat. Right." Aki flipped through a menu left on the table, eyes scanning over the choices.
He eyed her again for a moment and then shook his head. Ration bars were just...guh.
He put the small booklet down, and then looked at her. "What'll you'll drink?"
Tenzouko eyed him back.
"Would it be a fatal mistake to have whatever you're having?" she asked curiously.
Another broad, mischivious grin spread across his face with an almost doom inducing aura.
"Very likely yes. But if you wanted to be very brave..."
"Brave is in my job description," Tenzouko replied simply, raising an eyebrow at Aki and his instant air of mischief. "Whatever you can try, I can try, ne?"
"Lady likes a challenge." Aki murmured approvingly, a sharp look in his gray eyes as his grin widened. "Right then! I'll order for us both."
And he did just that when the girl came to take their order. This was fun.
It wouldn't and therefore didn't occur to Tenzouko that this might be the start of a glorious sibling rivalry, but she did lean forward against the table they sat at and give Aki a slightly challenging look as the waitress took their order, went a funny shade of pale, and departed.
"Hey..." she said, cocking her head slighty. "How did you find out where I lived, anyway?"
"That is a secret!" He said with that sharp edged grin, although his tone was very bright. Inwardly Aki was bouncing.
It had been a long time since someone had challenged him in somethin so friendly like drinking. It was an incrediably nice change.
"I'm just that awesome." he added.
She huffed in amusement, leaning back and crossing her arms to look at him. "I didn't know awesome could breach village secret archives," she commented, and the way she looked at him with her black eyes subtly hinted that she didn't mind if it apparently had. After all, she wouldn't be here otherwise. "For my money you did something involving Ibiko-sama's office," she said quietly, looking at him curiously. "Though if you did, I guess that is kinda awesome. And suicidal."
"Psh." He waved it off. "She hasn't killed me yet. I think she likes having someone to regularily terrorize who doesn't run away."
He put his elbows on the table and rested his chin in his hands. "Of course, it could be that I'm so very cute."
A pair of black eyes just stared at him levely in response to that. Daring him to take himself seriously on that score because honestly, Ibiko? No. Just uhm... no.
"She's nearly killed me a whole bunch of times," Tenzouko said. "Some of those times it was deliberate. I try pretty hard not to cross her."
And then a slighlty guilty smile crept to the corners of her mouth. "But it is pretty fun."
He knew she was a kindred spirit.
Annoying Ibiko was like playing with fire - you shouldn't do it, it could very possibly hurt or even kill you but it was just too much fun to pass up.
He laughed at her words and shook his head. "I honestly have no good reason why she hasn't killed me yet. I'd have done it if it t'were me. If I could stop laughing that is." He pondered this momentarily before perking up at the arrival of their drinks.
Mischievious look again. "Lets see how you like this."
One sniff of the drink set down along with a promise of their food soon to come made Tenzouko's sense for danger activate. She peered curiously at the glass in front of her, then over at Aki, then back at the glass, then over at Aki, then decided the glass was doubtless the thing most needing kept an eye on and went back to that.
"So what's this?" she asked him, eyeing the bubbles.
"Special." He said simply, taking a long drink. "Try it! Kinda invented it myself."
Aki grinned at her, rather proudly this time. And perhaps a little too closely - he obviously wanted to witness a reaction.
Oh Tenzouko knew that look. That was the look Asuka-senpai and Kakami-senpai used to give her when they were testing her early on in ANBU.
Thing was, Tenzouko hadn't ever learned a more constructive way to deal with it than to just follow their lead and really give them something to stare at. Same with Aki now as she took a big sip of her drink, lowered the glass as she swallowed and considered it... and promptly hiccupped so hard she bounced a little in her seat.
"....very special," she managed to say.
He laughed, sounding delighted. Perhaps moreso that she'd actually tried it than the hiccup. Aki knew there were more than a few people who would have done the sane safe thing and just given him a glare and gone on with something else.
"You like it?" he asked, just a tad eagerly.
"I guess I do," Tenzouko answered, a small shine of amusement in her pale and serious face. This really was fun, wasn't it? "I'm not going to ask how you came to invent it though." She was wondering where it would come in the scale of ABCs...
"Maybe you should consider giving up dodging Ibiko-sama's death threats and set up a bar of your own," she murmurred, taking another sip.
"Too boring." Aki said immediately. "Maybe when I'm too old to go off ninja'ing."
Funny, that was the first time he'd said as much. It sobered him for a minute and he set his glass down. Aki, subconciously, had always just assumed he'd die with his sandals on so to speak.
Then he realized that he was nearing his thirties and he was still alive. Another surprise. He hadn't expected to really make it past twenty.
...Wow. Heavy thoughts for a simple afternoon. Aki blinked.
Spotting the shift in his attitude for what it was, Tenzouko gave him a quietly knowing look. She knew the feeling well, she'd been having it over and over ever since the night Jimaiya-sama spoke to her after they removed her from Orochimayu's laboratories and told her that she would survive. Shizuya helped, though. He helped a lot, because he directly and indirectly challenged her when he saw that thought snag in her mind and that made a difference.
"Well," she said softly, "Should the day come I promise I'll be a good patron. Keep the place from getting boring, though I really don't think anywhere you are stays boring for long, Aki."
His gray eyes met her black ones solemnly for a moment and then he felt his mouth dissolve in to a smile that was almost odd on his face - quiet and somewhat sweet.
"Good. I really hate boring." he murmured then gave a crooked grin. "Just have to be entertained."
His companion nodded, looking right back at him. Thinking about a lot of things, but one of them was what she imagined Aki would say about how she and Shizuya spent their time. Boring, he'd probably call it. They just sat together, sometimes talking, usually her listening to him tell her little details from his day. Even Shizuya himself called that boring, but Tenzouko didn't. She called it real life, and she loved to hear about it - paperclips and gossipy assistants and random paperwork and every little thing.
Funny, how he was with her in her thoughts so much now. And how that made it easier to smile and be around people.
Now she was the one having out-of-place thoughts. Oh well. Maybe it was a side-effect of the sunshine. She lifted her glass in a little toast.
"Thanks, Aki," she said, meaning it.
"You're welcome." He answered with the same amount of sincerity. Aki threw in another crooked grin and a slight wink before he lifted his glass in a responding toast before taking a good drink of his glaze.
A slight, jerking twist of his shoulders for a second - he forgotten how strong these things could be - and then a breath. "Well. We've got you drinking one of my specials, so we'll get down on getting you introduced to decent food. And then we'll see how you do." A mock sigh. "I have so much to teach you yet."
Tenzouko raised an eyebrow at that sigh. Seemed she was always getting schooled these days, but she surely wasn't going to complain. She took a sip of her own drink, looked up as the food suddenly appeared on the table. A very interesting platter of small dishes; different soups and dumplings and noodle salads and all manner of intriguing looking food.
Her stomach squeaked hungrily. She looked down and frowned at it. Way to misbehave, organs. No speaking without permission. But her dark eyes betrayed that her thinking organs were having pretty much the same reaction to the sight of so much awesome food.
"It looks decent to me," she said, looking up at Aki.
"It'd better!" He exclaimed. Aki's own stomach was reminding him that a quick bite had not been enough that morning. "Well, it's here, so we eat!"
Gray eyes watched her choose a dish to taste and he felt oddly...content. Aki liked people - he liked having them around. He liked to laugh and have fun - mainly because he figured he'd had enough misery in his life and so had most other people.
He was feeling oddly excited about this informal "adopting" of Tenzouko. Liked that it felt right to him - and that he felt "stable" enough to look at her and speak to her when before just the sight of her had twisted his stomach in famliar and painful ways.
He picked up some dumplings as those thoughts passed quickly thorugh his head and then chuckled. "I hope you've figured out by now that I'm calling you imouto-chan now and again." Mischivious eyes dared her to object gleefully.
Pausing about-to-bite, Tenzouko peered over the edge of the gyouza she'd just skewered and blinked at Aki... then tipped her head curiously at the look he was giving her... and then she smiled quietly.
"Oh?" she murmurred, meeting his eyes. The feeling hit her strongly then - she always had wanted a big sibling when she was small - better late than never.
"I can live with that, ani-san," she answered, nodding once and grinning just a little - looking a lot younger than her years.
"Ah, well, darn. Now I have to find some other way to annoy you." He stated jokingly. That was all part of being a big brother, right? The priviledge of tormenting the smaller one.
"Like I get to approve any boyfriends." Aki grinned. Then paused and thought. "Or girlfriends. Whatever it is you like."
Not that he really expected to be listened to. Kotsuki and Izume had certainly ignored him when it was convient and he'd expected it so.
Barely managing to resist choking on her food at that, Tenzouko reached for her glass and took a gulp - which given what it contained was a bit of a mistake. At any rate, she was blinking heavily at Aki as she managed to clear her throat. Uh...
Aki + Shizuya = Trouble. She didn't even need a calculator to work that one out. Two more completely different men she couldn't imagine, and yet both of them cared about her. It made Tenzouko feel proud of herself, almost, but she knew better than to let the two of them within a mile of each other... especially in relation to her.
Oh Shizuya, first Tsurude and now Aki? She loved his little worry-lines but she didn't want to give him new ones!
"I'd have to tell you about them first," Tenzouko replied aloofly. Well, aloofly as she could, given her initial reaction to his statement.
Wow.
That was a reaction if he'd ever seen one (and Aki had seen many given his talent in shocking people). An unforseen reaction true...but still...He leaned forward a bit and raised his eyebrows.
"Yes. Probably a good idea." Head leaned to the side. "Start spilling then."
Tenzouko would have made like a clam, but then she wouldn't be able to eat any of the food. Instead she gave Aki the best anti-interrogation stare she had (not that she'd ever had to actually use it in the field - having never been captured) and shook her head.
"Nothing to spill," she answered vaguely convincingly. "And even if there was, I don't think I'm that stupid."
Scenarios involving Aki harassing the hell out of poor Shizuya floated upwards in her mind. There was no way she was letting their secret out. Even if Asuka had worked out she had a boyfriend she hadn't pried about who it was so... they were safe there for now.
She abandoned her chopsticks and went for a spoonful of soup, putting her attention on that rather than on the extremely amused and curious man watching her from across the table.
Darn. He knew it couldn't be that easy. She was smart (not that he expected anything less). Well this was gloomy. Aki settled for half a pout as he considered his options.
"What are you afraid of? I'll be nice." He said innocently. After his usual checking the guy out first of course.
Giving him a look that rather plainly said she doubted that, Tenzouko carried on taking her soup and acidusously avoiding looking at his half-pouty face.
"Still not saying either way," she replied, unconsciously imitating every little sister under questioning about their paramours since the dawn of time. She'd be stubborn and silent, there was no way Aki was getting this out of her.
Though... the thing was, he was a ninja after all. Damn! She'd just have to be even more stealthy. She took another taste of soup. Mmm... the trouble would be worth if for lunch like this, though. Not to mention having Aki around.