Log; Complete
When; December 23, sometime in the morning..?
Rating; PG, possibly PG-13 for Tayuya's language
Characters; Tayuya violentflutist and Aoyagi Ritsuka pixelatedmemory
Summary; The curse day has struck Ritsuka blind, and he awaits help from a friend.
Log;
Ritsuka drummed his fingers on the tabletop nervously as he tried looking around. He was blinking, he could feel it, but it was all black, no matter if his eyes were open or not, and it was unnerving him. Snape had given him some bottles of eyewash, but he couldn't see them and so didn't want to accidentally burn his eyes out. And now the man was silent, so it left Ritsuka wondering whether he was still there or if he'd left. He was very helpful, though, almost frighteningly so. The boy wondered for a moment why he was being so kind to a complete stranger, then shrugged it off. It was.. nice.
When Tayuya had said that she would come get him, though, he felt.. genuinely happy. It was good to know that, even on an entirely different world and without Soubi, he still had friends. Iit was hard enough to even meet someone who wasn't an idiot, ever since Seimei had died, so it was good that he had made the few friends he had. And despite the fact that Tayuya had killed people, like those who had killed his brother, Ritsuka was.. sort of happy to call her his friend.
And so, his hands wrapped around a steaming cup of hot chocolate, he sat and waited. If Tayuya said she'd be there, then she would. It was odd, he knew, that he was putting so much faith in someone he barely knew. But hey, if he could still trust Soubi, even after his disappearance, then why not Tayuya, too?
Tayuya had shoved someone out of the way on her way to the cafe, but she didn't stop and say sorry. Cause she wasn't sorry, and for some reason, probably one of these City's goddamn recycled curses, she could lie. Couldn't say anything that wasn't true. Which was doing her more harm than good, she thought, but she couldn't help it. She wasn't about to let Ritsuka sit out their blind and have no one come get him. It didn't take her long to get to the cafe, she'd never want to admit it, but she'd ran, not stopping her pace until she caught sight of Ritsuka's ears. Stopping for a moment to slow to a walk and steady her breathing, she made sure to step loudly as she she approached and sat down in the chair opposite the boy, noting the green bottles with mild curiosity. "Hey, Ritsuka..."
His cat ears twitched a little when he heard someone sit down, slightly afraid that it would be someone he didn't know who. Who... However, at hearing Tayuya, a small smile broke out on the boy's face. "Hi..!" At last, a familiar.. well, voice. Hearing Rosiel had only served to confuse him; it was good to at least hear someone who wasn't a little crazy, if he couldn't see them. He didn't understand why the angel was insulting Soubi, and it sort of annoyed him.
A bit unsure of what to say, Ritsuka took a small sip of his hot chocolate before offering the cup to Tayuya. "Uhm.. want some? It's... it's warm. Tastes good."
"Sure, thanks kid." Tayuya took the cup carefully, gripping it tightly to make sure none spilled while she took a sip. It did taste good, like chocolate. She'd never had this before. "... What is it?" The minute she said it she knew it seemed stupid. But the girl didn't know and hadn't tried a lot of the foods here in the City. In Otogakure the fare had always been pretty bland and standard. She crossed her legs, getting comfortable, and handed the cup back, making sure to reach for his hands first to wrap them around the mug, almost forgetting that he couldn't see. He didn't look blind.
Ritsuka blinked, surprised at her question. What was it? "It's.. hot chocolate.. Haven't you ever had any?" He looked at where he hoped Tayuya was, then back down at the cup she'd put back into his hands. It almost seemed impossible not to have had hot chocolate, at least once. When he was younger, even if his mother wouldn't pay him any attention, Seimei would give him a cup of the stuff after he got home from school in the winter, to warm him up. It would always put a smile on his face and get his blood circulation again. "It's.. it's good for when you're cold.."
"It is hot... so I guess that makes sense. I thought it tasted like chocolate." Tayuya smiled a little. It was a stupid question, like she'd thought. But she found she didn't mind. "So, how'd you end up out here, Ritsuka?" She asked, reaching across the table to turn Ritsuka's face slightly to the left, since he seemed to be trying to look in her direction.
"Uhmm.." He felt the hand on his face and jumped a little, flinching backwards slightly as he was caught unawares. It wasn't really intentional, more of an instinct, seated in the memory of his mother and her 'affections'. Ritsuka looked down towards the table, muttering an apology. It seemed like, even on a different world and after so much time, she could still affect him. "I.. I was walking home, because I couldn't sleep and I wanted to stretch.. But, when I was going home, I guess one of the curses got me, because all of a sudden it was all black and I couldn't see.."
Tayuya wasn't surprised or offended when he jumped under her touch. She supposed she should have warned him, and knew she would have done the same, though the follow-through would probably have included a blade. Propping her chin on her hands, she leaned elbows on the table, listening. "I see. Well, I guess we have some choices here. I'm cursed today, too, but I can see. So I can take you home, you can hang with me, or we can stay here. What do you want to do, hmm?"
A slight frowned crossed Ritsuka's face. "You're cursed too? How?" She didn't seem much different from the last time they'd talked.. He took another sip of the hot chocolate, weighing the choices. Staying here would mean that he didn't have to risk tripping over everything, asking Tayuya to take him back to the cathedral would mean that he'd be safe for the rest day, and hanging out with her would mean.. well, he wouldn't really be able to know what she did in her spare time, not unless she narrated it to him minute by minute, and he didn't want to be a burden like that. Anything he chose would make him a burden, really, wouldn't it? "I don't.. want to put you through any trouble..."
"I can't lie." As annoying as that was, Tayuya was slowly getting used to it. She lied a lot, usually, but it was only certain people she lied to, and she'd avoided said people all day. "So I can say that taking care of you right now is no trouble and I wouldn't mind at all." She smirked, not that he could see it. She didn't mind, really. Greed had run off somewhere with her underwear earlier and was still off causing a ruckus, and she was avoiding Orochimaru, so... "Ask me anything, see?"
No lies, huh? Ritsuka was silent for a moment, wondering how that'd be. If he aked Soubi a question, maybe he'd get a real answer out of the man, for once. He decided that maybe it wasn't such a bad thing, being cursed to tell the truth. Then again, he wasn't really a liar, so maybe it was tough for someone who hid what they thought.. It was kind of weird, though, hearing Tayuya say that she didn't mind taking care of him. It was something he'd only heard from Seimei, and maybe once from Soubi. He tried focusing his sightless eyes down at his lap, a little embarrassed. Question, question, what was a question he could ask, so that she didn't suspect the look on his face? "Uhmm... do you.. miss your world? Or do you like it better here?"
"Hands down, this one." Tayuya tried to the attention of a waiter, frowning at being ignored for someone closer. "If I was back in my world I'd be six feet under. Not to my liking. Plus, in this world I'm more free than I ever was there." Ritsuka looked a little uncomfortable, and she wondered why, but didn't pry. Yet.
"Oh yeah.." She'd said that at the holiday party, hadn't she? That she'd died in her world. Stupid question to ask. Ritsuka finished off his hot chocolate, thinking of another question he could ask. As he set down the cup, he remembered something else Tayuya had said at the party. From the sound of it, there weren't too many people around, so he decided to go for it. "Why.. who is Orochimaru, and why did you seem kind of... wary of him at the party?"
"He's my master." She began, and while she didn't mind Ritsuka knowing, it amazed her how easily the words flowed from her mouth. "And while I'm grateful to him for raising me, keeping me alive for as long as I was... I'm realizing how useless I am to him, now." She paused, just long enough to tell the waiter to bring her something with strawberries, before continuing. "I respect him, this is true. But I fear him just as much. He's powerful, very powerful, and he does eveything he can to learn new things, dangerous things, and he uses everyone around him." Heaving a sigh, she stared out the window for a moment. "I'm well aware I'm a pawn, that he helps me only to help himself, and that if he found out I had friends... he would be very angry. He might... try and hurt them." She made eye contact, but it didn't do any good. "Might hurt you, if he found out." So he wouldn't be... too worried, she added, "I'm trying to be very careful."
Ritsuka was silent, digesting the information he was given and trying to make sense of it. So.. that was why Tayuya hadn't wanted him to meet Orochimaru. "He.. sounds like a cruel person.." Strangely, he wasn't too worried about himself, of the chance that Orochimaru might find him and hurt him. No, he was more worried for Tayuya. If.. she knew she was being used, then.. why did she stay? "If.. if he's so terrible, why don't you just leave him?"
"He is." She answered simply. "And I stay-" She hesitated, because even though she couldn't lie, she hated this truth, because it made her weak, and she didn't like weak, but it made her realize just how powerless she was. "... I stay because I'm afraid to leave. Because my power might turn on me if I do, and I put a lot of stock in my power. I'm afraid he'll kill me, and I don't want to die again. And I'm afraid it will mean I've gone totally soft, and while semi-soft I can deal with I don't want to go all the way." She sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. When the waiter arrived with her food she swiped it from him with a glare, stabbing into the shortcake viciously with her fork. "Because in the end, I'm a coward."
Again, he was quiet. It sort of.. reminded him of Soubi. In a completely different way, of course, but.. the feeling of attachment was still there. He didn't want to leave Soubi, for fear that he'd be all alone again. She didn't want to leave Orochimaru out of fear for herself. And it was completely understandable, too. The boy nodded, showing his understanding, and murmured, "You're... you're not a coward. It makes sense, I guess." Ritsuka folded his hands in his lap, trying to look at where they should be. From the sound of her voice, Tayuya sounded.. a bit upset, and he felt bad for asking such a question. "You don't.. have to answer anything else, if you don't want to.."
"... I'm a coward." She repeated, stabbing the cake senselessly before taking a bite. "I fight like a coward to, stupid illusion specialty. And when I fight physically it's because of my new curse seal, which I can't control. So then it takes over my mind and it's not me anymore." Tayuya paused. "And I don't mind as long as it's you asking and not someone I hate." Looking down at the cake, she added. "Want a bite of this? It's good."
Illusions..? "That's... not cowardly... I've seen illusions used all the time to fight. In fact, whenever Soubi and I fought, everything that happened was pretty much an illusion." Everything except the wounds afterwards, except for the mental stress, except for those battles that affected the real world, like the one between the two Zero teams. Come to think of it, it'd been a long time since he'd last seen Yamato and Kouya, much less entered a battle with Soubi.. Ritsuka couldn't help but hope that they'd gone back home, that they were safe. He blinked at the offer and looked upwards, focusing on the sound of Tayuya's voice. "Uhmm... what is it?"
"Strawberry shortcake." The girl muttered, staring down at the cake. "... It's weird you don't think they're cowardly. Everyone else I fight always yells that at me." So, usually that was right before they died, but no matter. It got to her, today at least, when she couldn't lie. "... You fight?" The idea that this, dare she think it, cute little boy, could fight was... strange. True, boys his age fought all the time in her world, but they usually didn't look this innocent, either.
Shortcake.. didn't that mean it was sweet? He didn't really like sweet things, but strawberry did sound good... "Uh.. sure, I guess I'd like a bite..." It was so weird, not being able to see what was in front of him, having to ask what it was being offered, hell, not even really knowing where Tayuya was sitting. He knew she was there, across the table, but.. not the exact location. It was unnerving. "And... yeah... I.. we get challenged to battles a lot." It occured to him that maybe he should explain, since Tayuya was from a different world and probably had no idea of the battle system, but.. he figured that if she asked, he'd tell her. If not, then he'd keep quiet. Thinking about it, she would be the first person to know about the battles, wouldn't she..? It was an odd thought.
"Here we go, open up." Tayuya steadied a bite on the fork, and while she waited for Ritsuka to comply, she voiced her question. "... You have to get challenged? That's strange. You don't just... fight? There're rules or something?"
"Well.. yeah, sort of." Ritsuka thought about it for a moment. He'd never explained the battles before, it was kind of hard to know where to start. "..In my world, you're given a name that is only given to one other person in the world, and they're... sort of like your soulmate." He blushed, continuing, "but that's only like an example. Uh.. anyway, that pair of matching names makes up a team, and two teams can fight each other. One has to issue a challenge, and it's up to the other if they want to accept or not." He chewed on his lip for a moment, wondering whether or not he should mention the roles of the Sacrifices and Fighters, and then opened his mouth for the cake.
Tayuya was very careful about getting the cake in Ritsuka's mouth before withdrawing the fork. "There you are, kid." She said with a small smile, not really caring that he couldn't see it. He really was a cute kid. "... So what's the point? You fight just because? For fun? For a prize?"
He rolled the cake around in his mouth, tasting. ..For being sweet, it wasn't too bad. He swallowed it and shrugged. "Well.. no, not really." Why did they fight? Now that he thought about it, it really made no sense to him. "People just.. used to challenge Soubi and I a lot. I think it's because he's supposed to be pretty much the strongest Fighter out there.. I was fighting to find out information about my brother. That, and they used to get angry a lot, since our names don't match.."
"Okay, I think I get it. It's a rep thing?" Tayuya wasn't stabbing her cake so viciously anymore. "Like, just a fight to be the strongest? I can understand that. I've been after power ever since I realized it could keep me alive, protect me." She paused to consider the name thing, taking advantage of the boy's blindness to move silently and sneak a sip of the 'hot chocolate'. "... Why don't your names match? Thought they had to."
"I.. I really don't know. Soubi was Seimei's Fighter before he was mine, and he told me that before my brother died, he ordered Soubi.." Ritsuka paused, wondering what to say, and then gave up. "..He told Soubi that in the case of his death, that Soubi was to find me and be my FIghter, instead. I.. I really don't know why, but.. I'm sort of glad." He looked downwards, feeling the table beneath his hands and concentrating on imagining what it looked like in his mind. "It's.. The battles have helped me find out about my brother's murder. I haven't found what I really want to know, but.. at least I've made some progress."
"So you fight for revenge." Tayuya was gesturing with her fork, a bad habit of hers it seemed Ritsuka would be spared the sight of. "That I can understand. When Shikamaru got here-" She realized her wouldn't know who that was. "He was a guy who played a part in killing me, man, I was gunning for his ass. Revenge is a strong motive." She knew.
Revenge... "Yeah, I guess I do.. I want to avenge my brother, and I want to know why he was taken away from me." Ritsuka let a small smile slip onto his face. "It was nice seeing him again, even if only for a little while. He was here, in the City.." He looked up, tried focusing on where Tayuya was by following her voice. "This... Shikamaru, right? Are... are you still angry at him?"
"Not as much, but still, a hell of a lot, yes." Tayuya's anger at Shikamaru for her death still simmered, but it had been repleaced in order of importance with other worries and grudges, other things. "Yeah, that must've been nice." She refwerred to his brother. "Sakon and Ukon were here with me for a while, they're guys from the Sound Five, like me. And while they act like the most flaming bastards, they're okay sometimes." She smiled a bit as well. "I sort of miss them. Kimimaro, on the other hand, I do not miss at all. He's a motherfucking bastard, and he can go cough up a lung for all I care." Her voice was still light, almost jovial, as she spoke, unconcerned, at least for the moment, with what others would think.
Ritsuka blinked, a little thrown off. "Cough up a lung? I've heard people wish that others would get into accidents, or that they'd vanish, but... coughing up lungs is a new one..." Never mind that most of the curses he'd heard from his own mother.. She was no longer a major factor in his life, something that was almost comforting to know. However, there was still the clingy, childlike part of him that hoped she was okay, that she was doing well. "Are... they here? Sakon, Ukon, and.. Kimimaro?"
"He's sick, so... cough up a lung seemed appropriate." The girl gave a short, barking laugh. "Skaon and Ukon I haven't heard nor seen tail of since we had a fight with some Konoha ninja a while back. So I guess he's dead for good, if he got out. Haven't heard from Kimimaro's ass since he tried to jump mine on a curse day, so... I hope he's gone." She shurgged, moving some hair out of her way as she spoke. Sakon and Ukon she'd miss, Kimimaro none at all.
"..You keep mentioning Konoha.. What is that?" He couldn't help but ask. Hearing of these people from Tayuya's world made him curious. It would be interesting, definitely, if he could visit, but somehow, he doubted that could ever happen. So Ritsuka settled for the next best thing: asking about it. Besides, asking questions was the best way to learn, right?
"Konoha is one of the five great ninja countries. Fire Country, which has Konohagakure, the ninja village." Tayuya muttered around a piece of cake. "There others are Sunagakure, Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure. There are other smaller ones, like mine, Otogakure, but those five are the biggest." She finally swallowed the slice of food and spoke clearer. "Konoha is Orochimaru's enemy before anyone else, I think. He wants to raze to the ground."
Ritsuka frowned. So there were lots of different villages. Why was Konoha in specific Orochimaru's enemy? It.. didn't seem to make any sense. There were lots of different cities back in his world, and none of them fought... It almost made him laugh, to think of the kids in his school doing battle with the kids from a different school. "Why.. is Konoha your.. Orochimaru's enemy? It's just another village, right?"
"Naw." Tayuya shifted, propping her chin on her hands. "Konoha was Orochimaru's village before he defected. And he defected cause they found out he was doing all his crazy ass experiments. Plus he wanted to be the Hokage and they picked some other guy for the job." She blew a puff of air to move a piece of her long hair. "He's bitter."
Bitter? It.. was almost unthinkable to the boy. To be so bitter as to attack the place he once lived? Sure, Ritsuka would always hold some.. something whenever he thought of his mother, but that didn't mean that he wanted to hurt her.. "What's... 'Hokage'? And what does it matter if they picked someone else? It's a job, right? Just means less work." He didn't really want to ask about it, but.. he was curious. "And... what sort of experiments did he do?"
"Hokage's the head of the whole damn village." She was making sweeping gestures with her hands, continually forgetting the boy in front of her was ever so slightly blind. "It was about... honor, not work, I think. And... the experiments?" Tayuya wasn't sure he should know about those but, oh, he's asked and she couldn't lie. But... she could stall. "Hear about those shinigami that got kidnapped a while back?"
..Well, maybe a little bit of resentment was understandable. To be head of the whole village would definitely be a great honor.. Still, though, to keep an entire village under control... Ritsuka shook his head a little. Not something he'd want to do, no way. Too much pressure. He chewed on the inside of his lip, thinking. Kidnapped shinigami...? He nodded, a little hesitantly, replying, "I think I did, yeah..."The boy paused. "Wait.. did.. Did Orochimaru...?"
"Oh, yeah." Tayuya's voice was... hard. "The Kurotsuchi one and the one with the fucking huge breasts." She shook her head. "I wish he wouldn't, they keep me up at night." She tried to stop herself from continuing, this kid didn't... he didn't need to hear this. "The first one, especially, he did the most experiments on her. Pain tolerance, anatomy, powers, torture, autopsy, the works. The second one was lucky he only did half those tests. But they both kept screaming... goddamn..." Tayuya could have smacked herself. Or sewn her mouth shut.
"..O-Oh.." Ritsuka didn't really know either of them; in fact, he didn't really know any, or even what a shinigami really was, but that didn't stop him from feeling bad for them. It.. didn't really sound like an experiment, not at all. More like.. torture... The boy shivered. He didn't envy Tayuya, not a bit. "I..." What was there to say? Sorry? He looked downwards, trying to see through the blindness and find something to focus on. "I.. don't think I ever want to meet Orochimaru...."
"You don't." The answer came quickly. "And I'm not gonna let him know about you, alright?" She was quick to reassure, but she didn't know if she'd be able to back it up. Ritsuka would surely be interesting to him. ... She didn't want it known. "He's... my master, and I owe him everything, and... I'm no nice guy, but he's no misguided antihero." Tayuya sighed. She knew it was true, but it was difficult to say. "He's evil." Plain and simple. Tayuya was bad, true, considered evil herself, but she was nothing compared to her master.
He nodded, almsot frantically. Sure, being a Sacrifice meant that there was pain involved, especially when the opposing team's spell got through, and yeah, his mother wasn't exactly the nicest person in the world, but... torture? No. Not something he particularly wanted to experience. "I... I don't think you're a bad guy.." But Orochimaru... he... Ritsuka shivered, remembering something almost comical. "He.... remember that day when you were.. my brother..?"
"Yeah, course I do." It sort of... she wasn't as mad as she expected about Ritsuka, anyone, not thinking she was bad. And as much as she hated admitting it, she denied it even to herself, having a family, however fucked it had seemed, had been... nice.
"Well...." He hadn't imagined it, that was for certain, but it had definitely been close. "I think.... Orochimaru was my father..." The man had been married to.. Mr. Tatsumi, right? And Tatsumi had been his mother. So then... it would follow that Orochimaru had been his father. Ritsuka nodded. "He was my-- our 'father' that day..." He shuddered just thinking about it, about how he might have met the man they were talking about.
"... I think he plans to blot that day permanantly from his memory." Tayuya muttered. She had been very surprised she had not been punished for mouthing off that day. "... I hope." The girl took advantage of the boy's blindness to quietely steal another sip of the hot chocolate drink in between finishing off her cake. Damn, that stuff was good.
Ritsuka nodded again, agreeing. "I hope he does too.." Not just for his own sake, but for everyone they'd been 'related' to. The two shinigami Tayuya had talked about, he felt terrible for them. He didn't want anyone else to be hurt like that, even if he didn't know them. "Ah, I'm still sorry for yelling at you that day, by the way.." It was weird, apologizing, but.. it felt a little relieving. Ever since he'd come to the City, he'd become.. a bit more relaxed, maybe that was the way to put it.
"Eh, quit apologizing." Tayuya wasn't mad, she was merely waving it off. "I yelled a hell of a lot more, plus..." She tapped her wrist against the boy's arm, he'd feel the cool metal of the bracelet he'd given her earlier. She'd grabbed it off the table as she left to come her almost... well, she'd thought it silly, but found it not all together repulsive. And it was her first real gift, after all.
He ducked his head, embarrassed, and smiled a little when he felt the metal of the bracelet he'd given her. So then... she'd kept it. That was... it made him smile. He hadn't given anything to anyone before, not even Yayoi and Yuiko. "..I'm.. glad you kept it."
"Hell, I wouldn't throw it away." Tayuya smirked and managed to cut herself off before she said anything else along the lines of what she'd have done with it had she not liked it. Finishing off the last bite of her cake, the ninja looked outside. "Probably should get you home, kid."
Ah, home, that's right... Ritsuka had almost forgotten that they were at a cafe. Where they'd be otherwise was a mystery, but... he'd still forgotten that he wasn't back at the cathedral. The cathedral... where Rosiel was. And where Soubi wasn't. Well, there was no avoiding it forever, right? The boy nodded, a little disappointed in having to leave, but not voicing it. "A..all right...." Then he paused. He was blind, how.. were they going to go about this?
Tayuya stood, even going so nice as as to push in her chair. She hesitated... this had to look awful, but then grabbed Ritsuka's hand. "I'll lead you."
It was embarassing, but Ritsuka almost pulled his hand away, on instinct. How many times had his mother grabbed him so that he couldn't run away, or Soubi pulled him closer..? The boy looked down at the ground as he stood, nodding, his hand still in Tayuya's. "O-Okay..."
"Come on, kid." Tayuya bumped him, almost playfully, with her hip. "If I can stand it, you can too, alright?" She began leading the way out of the cafe, slowly and methodically. Didn't want to bump him into anything.
"R-Right." Ritsuka stumbled along, trying not to trip over anything as he pocketed the bottles that Mr. Snape had brought for them. He'd try them once he was home. No offense to Tayuya, but he hoped he got his eyesight back soon. It was.. so awkward having to be led by the hand. And weird not knowing precisely where he was going.
It was certainly a feat getting the younger boy out of the restaurant. Tayuya was certainly also doing more snarling than usual. Anyone who met her gaze wrong or even paused to look at her leading Ritsuka by the hand was met with a "none of your fucking business", "what the hell are you staring at", or a "the shit is wrong, never seen a blind person before?" Stupid people. They made it to the cathedral alright, however, and the ninja paused. "... Uh, which room?"
Not only was it weird being led by the hand, but.. well, from the sounds of it, there were a lot of people staring at them. Ritsuka blushed, looking down at the ground again as they moved. It was... really embarrassing! He was tempted to pull his hand away and try to make it back by himself, but decided against it. Tayuya had come out of her way to help him out, that would be... really rude.. Once they'd reached the Cathedral, he thought about it for a moment. He hadn't really had to think aboout where in the Cathedral he was headed whenever he went to his room... "Uhmm.. In the west hall, third room on the left."
"Gotcha." Tayuya was definitely glad to be out of sight of the general public. Bad enough she knew she was growing soft, heaven or hell forbid the general populace knew. But they finally reached their destination and Tayuya released Ritsuka's hand finally, putting it to rest on the doorknob. "There you are, kid."
A small smile reached Ritsuka's face when he felt the cool metal of the doorknob under his hand. It was... well, good to be home. He almost took his hand off the knob as he turned to Tayuya, but remembered at the last second and kept hold of it. It wouldn't do to lose it now, would it? He smiled at her, or where he hoped she was. "Uhm.. thank you.. for helping me. And keeping me company."
Unconsciously Tayuya moved to the side to be directly in front of the boy. "It would be bad if Orochimaru-sama found out, but otherwise-" She shrugged, reahcing out ruffle the boy's black hair. Damn... those ears were... oh no, she did not think they were cute. "You're a good kid, Ritsuka." She finally ended up saying.
His eyes went wide for a second, then he smiled again. "..Thanks." Seimei.. He used to ruffle his hair all the time. It was sort of comforting, even if it was someone else doing it. "I.. I won't tell Orochimaru, if I ever really meet him. I promise. I.." It.. was hard to comprehend, to wonder if this was what it was like having an older sister, but he couldn't help it. It was almost like having Seimei back, but... instead, it was Tayuya. "....thanks again.." was what he ended up with, however.
"Sure thing, kid." Tayuya resisted the urge to do it again. That would mean the end of the world she surely was a softie. So she smiled, thought he couldn't see it. "See you round, alright?"
Ritsuka nodded, smiling. "Definitely!" Then he turned the knob to his room and went inside. His arms automatically flew out in front of him, feeling around for anything in his way as he tried to make his way towards the bed. It was.... this way, right..?
Rating; PG, possibly PG-13 for Tayuya's language
Characters; Tayuya violentflutist and Aoyagi Ritsuka pixelatedmemory
Summary; The curse day has struck Ritsuka blind, and he awaits help from a friend.
Log;
Ritsuka drummed his fingers on the tabletop nervously as he tried looking around. He was blinking, he could feel it, but it was all black, no matter if his eyes were open or not, and it was unnerving him. Snape had given him some bottles of eyewash, but he couldn't see them and so didn't want to accidentally burn his eyes out. And now the man was silent, so it left Ritsuka wondering whether he was still there or if he'd left. He was very helpful, though, almost frighteningly so. The boy wondered for a moment why he was being so kind to a complete stranger, then shrugged it off. It was.. nice.
When Tayuya had said that she would come get him, though, he felt.. genuinely happy. It was good to know that, even on an entirely different world and without Soubi, he still had friends. Iit was hard enough to even meet someone who wasn't an idiot, ever since Seimei had died, so it was good that he had made the few friends he had. And despite the fact that Tayuya had killed people, like those who had killed his brother, Ritsuka was.. sort of happy to call her his friend.
And so, his hands wrapped around a steaming cup of hot chocolate, he sat and waited. If Tayuya said she'd be there, then she would. It was odd, he knew, that he was putting so much faith in someone he barely knew. But hey, if he could still trust Soubi, even after his disappearance, then why not Tayuya, too?
Tayuya had shoved someone out of the way on her way to the cafe, but she didn't stop and say sorry. Cause she wasn't sorry, and for some reason, probably one of these City's goddamn recycled curses, she could lie. Couldn't say anything that wasn't true. Which was doing her more harm than good, she thought, but she couldn't help it. She wasn't about to let Ritsuka sit out their blind and have no one come get him. It didn't take her long to get to the cafe, she'd never want to admit it, but she'd ran, not stopping her pace until she caught sight of Ritsuka's ears. Stopping for a moment to slow to a walk and steady her breathing, she made sure to step loudly as she she approached and sat down in the chair opposite the boy, noting the green bottles with mild curiosity. "Hey, Ritsuka..."
His cat ears twitched a little when he heard someone sit down, slightly afraid that it would be someone he didn't know who. Who... However, at hearing Tayuya, a small smile broke out on the boy's face. "Hi..!" At last, a familiar.. well, voice. Hearing Rosiel had only served to confuse him; it was good to at least hear someone who wasn't a little crazy, if he couldn't see them. He didn't understand why the angel was insulting Soubi, and it sort of annoyed him.
A bit unsure of what to say, Ritsuka took a small sip of his hot chocolate before offering the cup to Tayuya. "Uhm.. want some? It's... it's warm. Tastes good."
"Sure, thanks kid." Tayuya took the cup carefully, gripping it tightly to make sure none spilled while she took a sip. It did taste good, like chocolate. She'd never had this before. "... What is it?" The minute she said it she knew it seemed stupid. But the girl didn't know and hadn't tried a lot of the foods here in the City. In Otogakure the fare had always been pretty bland and standard. She crossed her legs, getting comfortable, and handed the cup back, making sure to reach for his hands first to wrap them around the mug, almost forgetting that he couldn't see. He didn't look blind.
Ritsuka blinked, surprised at her question. What was it? "It's.. hot chocolate.. Haven't you ever had any?" He looked at where he hoped Tayuya was, then back down at the cup she'd put back into his hands. It almost seemed impossible not to have had hot chocolate, at least once. When he was younger, even if his mother wouldn't pay him any attention, Seimei would give him a cup of the stuff after he got home from school in the winter, to warm him up. It would always put a smile on his face and get his blood circulation again. "It's.. it's good for when you're cold.."
"It is hot... so I guess that makes sense. I thought it tasted like chocolate." Tayuya smiled a little. It was a stupid question, like she'd thought. But she found she didn't mind. "So, how'd you end up out here, Ritsuka?" She asked, reaching across the table to turn Ritsuka's face slightly to the left, since he seemed to be trying to look in her direction.
"Uhmm.." He felt the hand on his face and jumped a little, flinching backwards slightly as he was caught unawares. It wasn't really intentional, more of an instinct, seated in the memory of his mother and her 'affections'. Ritsuka looked down towards the table, muttering an apology. It seemed like, even on a different world and after so much time, she could still affect him. "I.. I was walking home, because I couldn't sleep and I wanted to stretch.. But, when I was going home, I guess one of the curses got me, because all of a sudden it was all black and I couldn't see.."
Tayuya wasn't surprised or offended when he jumped under her touch. She supposed she should have warned him, and knew she would have done the same, though the follow-through would probably have included a blade. Propping her chin on her hands, she leaned elbows on the table, listening. "I see. Well, I guess we have some choices here. I'm cursed today, too, but I can see. So I can take you home, you can hang with me, or we can stay here. What do you want to do, hmm?"
A slight frowned crossed Ritsuka's face. "You're cursed too? How?" She didn't seem much different from the last time they'd talked.. He took another sip of the hot chocolate, weighing the choices. Staying here would mean that he didn't have to risk tripping over everything, asking Tayuya to take him back to the cathedral would mean that he'd be safe for the rest day, and hanging out with her would mean.. well, he wouldn't really be able to know what she did in her spare time, not unless she narrated it to him minute by minute, and he didn't want to be a burden like that. Anything he chose would make him a burden, really, wouldn't it? "I don't.. want to put you through any trouble..."
"I can't lie." As annoying as that was, Tayuya was slowly getting used to it. She lied a lot, usually, but it was only certain people she lied to, and she'd avoided said people all day. "So I can say that taking care of you right now is no trouble and I wouldn't mind at all." She smirked, not that he could see it. She didn't mind, really. Greed had run off somewhere with her underwear earlier and was still off causing a ruckus, and she was avoiding Orochimaru, so... "Ask me anything, see?"
No lies, huh? Ritsuka was silent for a moment, wondering how that'd be. If he aked Soubi a question, maybe he'd get a real answer out of the man, for once. He decided that maybe it wasn't such a bad thing, being cursed to tell the truth. Then again, he wasn't really a liar, so maybe it was tough for someone who hid what they thought.. It was kind of weird, though, hearing Tayuya say that she didn't mind taking care of him. It was something he'd only heard from Seimei, and maybe once from Soubi. He tried focusing his sightless eyes down at his lap, a little embarrassed. Question, question, what was a question he could ask, so that she didn't suspect the look on his face? "Uhmm... do you.. miss your world? Or do you like it better here?"
"Hands down, this one." Tayuya tried to the attention of a waiter, frowning at being ignored for someone closer. "If I was back in my world I'd be six feet under. Not to my liking. Plus, in this world I'm more free than I ever was there." Ritsuka looked a little uncomfortable, and she wondered why, but didn't pry. Yet.
"Oh yeah.." She'd said that at the holiday party, hadn't she? That she'd died in her world. Stupid question to ask. Ritsuka finished off his hot chocolate, thinking of another question he could ask. As he set down the cup, he remembered something else Tayuya had said at the party. From the sound of it, there weren't too many people around, so he decided to go for it. "Why.. who is Orochimaru, and why did you seem kind of... wary of him at the party?"
"He's my master." She began, and while she didn't mind Ritsuka knowing, it amazed her how easily the words flowed from her mouth. "And while I'm grateful to him for raising me, keeping me alive for as long as I was... I'm realizing how useless I am to him, now." She paused, just long enough to tell the waiter to bring her something with strawberries, before continuing. "I respect him, this is true. But I fear him just as much. He's powerful, very powerful, and he does eveything he can to learn new things, dangerous things, and he uses everyone around him." Heaving a sigh, she stared out the window for a moment. "I'm well aware I'm a pawn, that he helps me only to help himself, and that if he found out I had friends... he would be very angry. He might... try and hurt them." She made eye contact, but it didn't do any good. "Might hurt you, if he found out." So he wouldn't be... too worried, she added, "I'm trying to be very careful."
Ritsuka was silent, digesting the information he was given and trying to make sense of it. So.. that was why Tayuya hadn't wanted him to meet Orochimaru. "He.. sounds like a cruel person.." Strangely, he wasn't too worried about himself, of the chance that Orochimaru might find him and hurt him. No, he was more worried for Tayuya. If.. she knew she was being used, then.. why did she stay? "If.. if he's so terrible, why don't you just leave him?"
"He is." She answered simply. "And I stay-" She hesitated, because even though she couldn't lie, she hated this truth, because it made her weak, and she didn't like weak, but it made her realize just how powerless she was. "... I stay because I'm afraid to leave. Because my power might turn on me if I do, and I put a lot of stock in my power. I'm afraid he'll kill me, and I don't want to die again. And I'm afraid it will mean I've gone totally soft, and while semi-soft I can deal with I don't want to go all the way." She sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. When the waiter arrived with her food she swiped it from him with a glare, stabbing into the shortcake viciously with her fork. "Because in the end, I'm a coward."
Again, he was quiet. It sort of.. reminded him of Soubi. In a completely different way, of course, but.. the feeling of attachment was still there. He didn't want to leave Soubi, for fear that he'd be all alone again. She didn't want to leave Orochimaru out of fear for herself. And it was completely understandable, too. The boy nodded, showing his understanding, and murmured, "You're... you're not a coward. It makes sense, I guess." Ritsuka folded his hands in his lap, trying to look at where they should be. From the sound of her voice, Tayuya sounded.. a bit upset, and he felt bad for asking such a question. "You don't.. have to answer anything else, if you don't want to.."
"... I'm a coward." She repeated, stabbing the cake senselessly before taking a bite. "I fight like a coward to, stupid illusion specialty. And when I fight physically it's because of my new curse seal, which I can't control. So then it takes over my mind and it's not me anymore." Tayuya paused. "And I don't mind as long as it's you asking and not someone I hate." Looking down at the cake, she added. "Want a bite of this? It's good."
Illusions..? "That's... not cowardly... I've seen illusions used all the time to fight. In fact, whenever Soubi and I fought, everything that happened was pretty much an illusion." Everything except the wounds afterwards, except for the mental stress, except for those battles that affected the real world, like the one between the two Zero teams. Come to think of it, it'd been a long time since he'd last seen Yamato and Kouya, much less entered a battle with Soubi.. Ritsuka couldn't help but hope that they'd gone back home, that they were safe. He blinked at the offer and looked upwards, focusing on the sound of Tayuya's voice. "Uhmm... what is it?"
"Strawberry shortcake." The girl muttered, staring down at the cake. "... It's weird you don't think they're cowardly. Everyone else I fight always yells that at me." So, usually that was right before they died, but no matter. It got to her, today at least, when she couldn't lie. "... You fight?" The idea that this, dare she think it, cute little boy, could fight was... strange. True, boys his age fought all the time in her world, but they usually didn't look this innocent, either.
Shortcake.. didn't that mean it was sweet? He didn't really like sweet things, but strawberry did sound good... "Uh.. sure, I guess I'd like a bite..." It was so weird, not being able to see what was in front of him, having to ask what it was being offered, hell, not even really knowing where Tayuya was sitting. He knew she was there, across the table, but.. not the exact location. It was unnerving. "And... yeah... I.. we get challenged to battles a lot." It occured to him that maybe he should explain, since Tayuya was from a different world and probably had no idea of the battle system, but.. he figured that if she asked, he'd tell her. If not, then he'd keep quiet. Thinking about it, she would be the first person to know about the battles, wouldn't she..? It was an odd thought.
"Here we go, open up." Tayuya steadied a bite on the fork, and while she waited for Ritsuka to comply, she voiced her question. "... You have to get challenged? That's strange. You don't just... fight? There're rules or something?"
"Well.. yeah, sort of." Ritsuka thought about it for a moment. He'd never explained the battles before, it was kind of hard to know where to start. "..In my world, you're given a name that is only given to one other person in the world, and they're... sort of like your soulmate." He blushed, continuing, "but that's only like an example. Uh.. anyway, that pair of matching names makes up a team, and two teams can fight each other. One has to issue a challenge, and it's up to the other if they want to accept or not." He chewed on his lip for a moment, wondering whether or not he should mention the roles of the Sacrifices and Fighters, and then opened his mouth for the cake.
Tayuya was very careful about getting the cake in Ritsuka's mouth before withdrawing the fork. "There you are, kid." She said with a small smile, not really caring that he couldn't see it. He really was a cute kid. "... So what's the point? You fight just because? For fun? For a prize?"
He rolled the cake around in his mouth, tasting. ..For being sweet, it wasn't too bad. He swallowed it and shrugged. "Well.. no, not really." Why did they fight? Now that he thought about it, it really made no sense to him. "People just.. used to challenge Soubi and I a lot. I think it's because he's supposed to be pretty much the strongest Fighter out there.. I was fighting to find out information about my brother. That, and they used to get angry a lot, since our names don't match.."
"Okay, I think I get it. It's a rep thing?" Tayuya wasn't stabbing her cake so viciously anymore. "Like, just a fight to be the strongest? I can understand that. I've been after power ever since I realized it could keep me alive, protect me." She paused to consider the name thing, taking advantage of the boy's blindness to move silently and sneak a sip of the 'hot chocolate'. "... Why don't your names match? Thought they had to."
"I.. I really don't know. Soubi was Seimei's Fighter before he was mine, and he told me that before my brother died, he ordered Soubi.." Ritsuka paused, wondering what to say, and then gave up. "..He told Soubi that in the case of his death, that Soubi was to find me and be my FIghter, instead. I.. I really don't know why, but.. I'm sort of glad." He looked downwards, feeling the table beneath his hands and concentrating on imagining what it looked like in his mind. "It's.. The battles have helped me find out about my brother's murder. I haven't found what I really want to know, but.. at least I've made some progress."
"So you fight for revenge." Tayuya was gesturing with her fork, a bad habit of hers it seemed Ritsuka would be spared the sight of. "That I can understand. When Shikamaru got here-" She realized her wouldn't know who that was. "He was a guy who played a part in killing me, man, I was gunning for his ass. Revenge is a strong motive." She knew.
Revenge... "Yeah, I guess I do.. I want to avenge my brother, and I want to know why he was taken away from me." Ritsuka let a small smile slip onto his face. "It was nice seeing him again, even if only for a little while. He was here, in the City.." He looked up, tried focusing on where Tayuya was by following her voice. "This... Shikamaru, right? Are... are you still angry at him?"
"Not as much, but still, a hell of a lot, yes." Tayuya's anger at Shikamaru for her death still simmered, but it had been repleaced in order of importance with other worries and grudges, other things. "Yeah, that must've been nice." She refwerred to his brother. "Sakon and Ukon were here with me for a while, they're guys from the Sound Five, like me. And while they act like the most flaming bastards, they're okay sometimes." She smiled a bit as well. "I sort of miss them. Kimimaro, on the other hand, I do not miss at all. He's a motherfucking bastard, and he can go cough up a lung for all I care." Her voice was still light, almost jovial, as she spoke, unconcerned, at least for the moment, with what others would think.
Ritsuka blinked, a little thrown off. "Cough up a lung? I've heard people wish that others would get into accidents, or that they'd vanish, but... coughing up lungs is a new one..." Never mind that most of the curses he'd heard from his own mother.. She was no longer a major factor in his life, something that was almost comforting to know. However, there was still the clingy, childlike part of him that hoped she was okay, that she was doing well. "Are... they here? Sakon, Ukon, and.. Kimimaro?"
"He's sick, so... cough up a lung seemed appropriate." The girl gave a short, barking laugh. "Skaon and Ukon I haven't heard nor seen tail of since we had a fight with some Konoha ninja a while back. So I guess he's dead for good, if he got out. Haven't heard from Kimimaro's ass since he tried to jump mine on a curse day, so... I hope he's gone." She shurgged, moving some hair out of her way as she spoke. Sakon and Ukon she'd miss, Kimimaro none at all.
"..You keep mentioning Konoha.. What is that?" He couldn't help but ask. Hearing of these people from Tayuya's world made him curious. It would be interesting, definitely, if he could visit, but somehow, he doubted that could ever happen. So Ritsuka settled for the next best thing: asking about it. Besides, asking questions was the best way to learn, right?
"Konoha is one of the five great ninja countries. Fire Country, which has Konohagakure, the ninja village." Tayuya muttered around a piece of cake. "There others are Sunagakure, Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure. There are other smaller ones, like mine, Otogakure, but those five are the biggest." She finally swallowed the slice of food and spoke clearer. "Konoha is Orochimaru's enemy before anyone else, I think. He wants to raze to the ground."
Ritsuka frowned. So there were lots of different villages. Why was Konoha in specific Orochimaru's enemy? It.. didn't seem to make any sense. There were lots of different cities back in his world, and none of them fought... It almost made him laugh, to think of the kids in his school doing battle with the kids from a different school. "Why.. is Konoha your.. Orochimaru's enemy? It's just another village, right?"
"Naw." Tayuya shifted, propping her chin on her hands. "Konoha was Orochimaru's village before he defected. And he defected cause they found out he was doing all his crazy ass experiments. Plus he wanted to be the Hokage and they picked some other guy for the job." She blew a puff of air to move a piece of her long hair. "He's bitter."
Bitter? It.. was almost unthinkable to the boy. To be so bitter as to attack the place he once lived? Sure, Ritsuka would always hold some.. something whenever he thought of his mother, but that didn't mean that he wanted to hurt her.. "What's... 'Hokage'? And what does it matter if they picked someone else? It's a job, right? Just means less work." He didn't really want to ask about it, but.. he was curious. "And... what sort of experiments did he do?"
"Hokage's the head of the whole damn village." She was making sweeping gestures with her hands, continually forgetting the boy in front of her was ever so slightly blind. "It was about... honor, not work, I think. And... the experiments?" Tayuya wasn't sure he should know about those but, oh, he's asked and she couldn't lie. But... she could stall. "Hear about those shinigami that got kidnapped a while back?"
..Well, maybe a little bit of resentment was understandable. To be head of the whole village would definitely be a great honor.. Still, though, to keep an entire village under control... Ritsuka shook his head a little. Not something he'd want to do, no way. Too much pressure. He chewed on the inside of his lip, thinking. Kidnapped shinigami...? He nodded, a little hesitantly, replying, "I think I did, yeah..."The boy paused. "Wait.. did.. Did Orochimaru...?"
"Oh, yeah." Tayuya's voice was... hard. "The Kurotsuchi one and the one with the fucking huge breasts." She shook her head. "I wish he wouldn't, they keep me up at night." She tried to stop herself from continuing, this kid didn't... he didn't need to hear this. "The first one, especially, he did the most experiments on her. Pain tolerance, anatomy, powers, torture, autopsy, the works. The second one was lucky he only did half those tests. But they both kept screaming... goddamn..." Tayuya could have smacked herself. Or sewn her mouth shut.
"..O-Oh.." Ritsuka didn't really know either of them; in fact, he didn't really know any, or even what a shinigami really was, but that didn't stop him from feeling bad for them. It.. didn't really sound like an experiment, not at all. More like.. torture... The boy shivered. He didn't envy Tayuya, not a bit. "I..." What was there to say? Sorry? He looked downwards, trying to see through the blindness and find something to focus on. "I.. don't think I ever want to meet Orochimaru...."
"You don't." The answer came quickly. "And I'm not gonna let him know about you, alright?" She was quick to reassure, but she didn't know if she'd be able to back it up. Ritsuka would surely be interesting to him. ... She didn't want it known. "He's... my master, and I owe him everything, and... I'm no nice guy, but he's no misguided antihero." Tayuya sighed. She knew it was true, but it was difficult to say. "He's evil." Plain and simple. Tayuya was bad, true, considered evil herself, but she was nothing compared to her master.
He nodded, almsot frantically. Sure, being a Sacrifice meant that there was pain involved, especially when the opposing team's spell got through, and yeah, his mother wasn't exactly the nicest person in the world, but... torture? No. Not something he particularly wanted to experience. "I... I don't think you're a bad guy.." But Orochimaru... he... Ritsuka shivered, remembering something almost comical. "He.... remember that day when you were.. my brother..?"
"Yeah, course I do." It sort of... she wasn't as mad as she expected about Ritsuka, anyone, not thinking she was bad. And as much as she hated admitting it, she denied it even to herself, having a family, however fucked it had seemed, had been... nice.
"Well...." He hadn't imagined it, that was for certain, but it had definitely been close. "I think.... Orochimaru was my father..." The man had been married to.. Mr. Tatsumi, right? And Tatsumi had been his mother. So then... it would follow that Orochimaru had been his father. Ritsuka nodded. "He was my-- our 'father' that day..." He shuddered just thinking about it, about how he might have met the man they were talking about.
"... I think he plans to blot that day permanantly from his memory." Tayuya muttered. She had been very surprised she had not been punished for mouthing off that day. "... I hope." The girl took advantage of the boy's blindness to quietely steal another sip of the hot chocolate drink in between finishing off her cake. Damn, that stuff was good.
Ritsuka nodded again, agreeing. "I hope he does too.." Not just for his own sake, but for everyone they'd been 'related' to. The two shinigami Tayuya had talked about, he felt terrible for them. He didn't want anyone else to be hurt like that, even if he didn't know them. "Ah, I'm still sorry for yelling at you that day, by the way.." It was weird, apologizing, but.. it felt a little relieving. Ever since he'd come to the City, he'd become.. a bit more relaxed, maybe that was the way to put it.
"Eh, quit apologizing." Tayuya wasn't mad, she was merely waving it off. "I yelled a hell of a lot more, plus..." She tapped her wrist against the boy's arm, he'd feel the cool metal of the bracelet he'd given her earlier. She'd grabbed it off the table as she left to come her almost... well, she'd thought it silly, but found it not all together repulsive. And it was her first real gift, after all.
He ducked his head, embarrassed, and smiled a little when he felt the metal of the bracelet he'd given her. So then... she'd kept it. That was... it made him smile. He hadn't given anything to anyone before, not even Yayoi and Yuiko. "..I'm.. glad you kept it."
"Hell, I wouldn't throw it away." Tayuya smirked and managed to cut herself off before she said anything else along the lines of what she'd have done with it had she not liked it. Finishing off the last bite of her cake, the ninja looked outside. "Probably should get you home, kid."
Ah, home, that's right... Ritsuka had almost forgotten that they were at a cafe. Where they'd be otherwise was a mystery, but... he'd still forgotten that he wasn't back at the cathedral. The cathedral... where Rosiel was. And where Soubi wasn't. Well, there was no avoiding it forever, right? The boy nodded, a little disappointed in having to leave, but not voicing it. "A..all right...." Then he paused. He was blind, how.. were they going to go about this?
Tayuya stood, even going so nice as as to push in her chair. She hesitated... this had to look awful, but then grabbed Ritsuka's hand. "I'll lead you."
It was embarassing, but Ritsuka almost pulled his hand away, on instinct. How many times had his mother grabbed him so that he couldn't run away, or Soubi pulled him closer..? The boy looked down at the ground as he stood, nodding, his hand still in Tayuya's. "O-Okay..."
"Come on, kid." Tayuya bumped him, almost playfully, with her hip. "If I can stand it, you can too, alright?" She began leading the way out of the cafe, slowly and methodically. Didn't want to bump him into anything.
"R-Right." Ritsuka stumbled along, trying not to trip over anything as he pocketed the bottles that Mr. Snape had brought for them. He'd try them once he was home. No offense to Tayuya, but he hoped he got his eyesight back soon. It was.. so awkward having to be led by the hand. And weird not knowing precisely where he was going.
It was certainly a feat getting the younger boy out of the restaurant. Tayuya was certainly also doing more snarling than usual. Anyone who met her gaze wrong or even paused to look at her leading Ritsuka by the hand was met with a "none of your fucking business", "what the hell are you staring at", or a "the shit is wrong, never seen a blind person before?" Stupid people. They made it to the cathedral alright, however, and the ninja paused. "... Uh, which room?"
Not only was it weird being led by the hand, but.. well, from the sounds of it, there were a lot of people staring at them. Ritsuka blushed, looking down at the ground again as they moved. It was... really embarrassing! He was tempted to pull his hand away and try to make it back by himself, but decided against it. Tayuya had come out of her way to help him out, that would be... really rude.. Once they'd reached the Cathedral, he thought about it for a moment. He hadn't really had to think aboout where in the Cathedral he was headed whenever he went to his room... "Uhmm.. In the west hall, third room on the left."
"Gotcha." Tayuya was definitely glad to be out of sight of the general public. Bad enough she knew she was growing soft, heaven or hell forbid the general populace knew. But they finally reached their destination and Tayuya released Ritsuka's hand finally, putting it to rest on the doorknob. "There you are, kid."
A small smile reached Ritsuka's face when he felt the cool metal of the doorknob under his hand. It was... well, good to be home. He almost took his hand off the knob as he turned to Tayuya, but remembered at the last second and kept hold of it. It wouldn't do to lose it now, would it? He smiled at her, or where he hoped she was. "Uhm.. thank you.. for helping me. And keeping me company."
Unconsciously Tayuya moved to the side to be directly in front of the boy. "It would be bad if Orochimaru-sama found out, but otherwise-" She shrugged, reahcing out ruffle the boy's black hair. Damn... those ears were... oh no, she did not think they were cute. "You're a good kid, Ritsuka." She finally ended up saying.
His eyes went wide for a second, then he smiled again. "..Thanks." Seimei.. He used to ruffle his hair all the time. It was sort of comforting, even if it was someone else doing it. "I.. I won't tell Orochimaru, if I ever really meet him. I promise. I.." It.. was hard to comprehend, to wonder if this was what it was like having an older sister, but he couldn't help it. It was almost like having Seimei back, but... instead, it was Tayuya. "....thanks again.." was what he ended up with, however.
"Sure thing, kid." Tayuya resisted the urge to do it again. That would mean the end of the world she surely was a softie. So she smiled, thought he couldn't see it. "See you round, alright?"
Ritsuka nodded, smiling. "Definitely!" Then he turned the knob to his room and went inside. His arms automatically flew out in front of him, feeling around for anything in his way as he tried to make his way towards the bed. It was.... this way, right..?