Beauty and the Youkai [Love Love Eros Event]

[Tanuki Rinko]

Rinko stomped around the house, stopping at a closet to fling it open. She peeking inside before slamming it closed again and continuing down the hallway. An elderly man's voice called out from a distant room. "Rinko-chan? What are you doing? Nervous before your date?" A hardy guffaw transitioned into wheezing as the young girl made her way to her grandfather's study. "No Gramps. I'm making sure you didn't booby trap anything. I don't need this guy thinking we're a bunch of weirdos." The old man raised an eyebrow. "But we are. You need to let them know early so they can adapt. Otherwise they break the first time they enter the bathroom." Rinko puffed her cheeks out. "Gramps...you switched off the payboxes in the bathroom right?" A loud shout from within the house interrupted the conversation. "I HAVE TO PAY FOR TOILET PAPER?!" A silence filled the air before Koukatsu cleared his throat. "No. But it's that or the meter. With all these dang blasted people in my house, there's no way I'm lettin' 'em take a dump in my bathroom for free." Rinko pouted her lip, but knew there was no beating her grandpa. The best she could do was ensure that the house was clear of pranks.



As the designated date time drew near, Rinko began pacing back and forth in front of the door. While it was her father that had initially put her name into the event box, she found herself eager to meet her mystery man. Up until this point, she'd met few boys that caught her fancy. Some seemed to innocent, others too insufferable in their arrogance. What would this guy be? Rinko was brought back to her situation when a microphone bopped her in the cheek. The young man holding it leaned in close to her. "Tanuki Rinko! Are you nervous for your date? What do you look for in a man? Will you pay for his restroom expenses?" Rinko shrunk back. She'd forgotten that there was a gaggle of cameras and people watching her every move. She put on a cocky smile, but her twitching ears gave away her unease. "Of course I'm not nervous. What would I have to be nervous about? Anyway, I'm thirteen, I don't think I should be looking for anything in a man." She waved off the camera and turned away from man. Honestly, she'd been thinking long and hard lately about relationships. While she knew she wasn't going to hop on the marriage wagon anytime soon, she couldn't help but wonder what her ideal mate would be. She found herself answering the man's question in her head as she watched the entryway. Hmm...taller than me, but not too tall. I don't want to strain my neck. Not overly muscular...veiny, bulging arms freak me out. I don't think I have a color preference for hair or eyes. Personality-wise I guess I just want someone who doesn't mind my heritage, curse and all. Rinko's shoulders slumped a bit at the thought. No one knew about her money curse yet, aside from her family of course. But isn't the point of a date to open up about yourself so the other person knows what to expect if they decide to start a relationship? Ugh. Why doesn't the academy teach these kinds of things?! I'm pretty sure every shinobi could benefit from a class like that. As she wallowed in self-doubt, Rinko anxiously waited at the door for her date to arrive.

 

[Otani Ryuichi]

"A date?"

Ryuichi nodded to his ghost companion as he looked into the mirror the his left hand holding open his right eyelids. On his other hand's index finger was a large contact lens that was designed for the full eye, and would cover up most of his strange rippled rinnegan. "It's some new TV show. I have time till I go off in search of....you know...so I figured I'd give it a shot." He stated, placing the first contact and shifting it around so it would eventually hide everything. "And why did you decide to do a date show?" Asked Yoya, floating up behind Ryuichi to get a good look at him on the mirror.

"Aren't you supposed to be secretive? No, scratch that, you ARE supposed to be secretive." She finished, flicking his hair to no effect due to her ghostly nature.

"As far as anyone knows, Otani Ryuichi doesn't exist anymore. He was a weird kid in the academy that vanished after his dad croaked. My alternate identity is more than enough these days." He answered to her, opening his other eye wide as he opened the large contact holder. With a single swish of his finger, it went from the holder to his eye without hesitation. "There's also the problem of this being a screwed relationship from the start."

"Who said this had to be a relationship?" "Who said you had a choice? You know the rules. You can't be all romantic with those outisde of ANBU. It's an identity issue."

With a sigh, Ryu simply waved off the faded ghost girl as he gave his eyes one last check. yup, they looked relatively normal...aside from the strange purple color in the irises. 'better off than the whole eye I guess.' he thought to himself, before walking off. He had left the Television on for Yoya, as well as turned the page to her current book on the table before heading out through the front door of the teahouse.

---

Upon approaching the location of the date, Ryu was quick to notice the approaching cameramen and a man with some cards and a mic. 'lovely. questions.' he mentally scoffed as he awaited their approach with crossed arms.

When they arrived, the man with the mic held it up to Ryuichi. "Akaime Ocha! Can you please answer some questions?" "No, but I feel like you're gonna ask anyways.""Well, it was part of the contract so- Are you nervous about your date? What do you look for in a...erm. Partner?" He asks, looking at the paper and not exactly being prepared to see "Whatever" under Ryu's sexual preference.

"Well, I haven't been nervous about romantic interests since I was like 10 so no. As for what I'm looking for..." He gave it a moment of thought before raising a finger. "They should be loyal, and not find me weird."

. . .

"That's...that's all? Nothing about looks?" The man asked, met with a small shrug from Ryuichi. "When you have luck like me, you stop caring about things like that. Plus, if something was that unattractive, surgery is a thing." He said without tact before walking off towards the house. With a knock on the door, Ryu double checked his chakra to make sure none of it was leaking around him (which normally causes people to feel tired or sick.) and awaited an answer.

wait- flowers. Every classy man brings flowers. 'bit late for that....But I have the next best thing!'

---

When the door was opened, the camera crew behind Ryu looked in shock as he held out a small blue otter with a crude bow on it, spouting profanities and curses while struggling. "Yo!" He said simply as the Otter started chewing on Ryu's hand, and he didn't respond in the slightest. Holding out the otter, he said "This is for Rinko." He said, as the creature finally slipped out.

"Like hell I am! I'm Mizuko, the world's best map charter! Screw off, boss!" It said before vanishing in smoke.. . . .

How exactly do girls respond to talking animals that vanish in thin air? He had no clue.

 

[Tanuki Rinko]

The knock at the door jostled Rinko out of her thoughts. She scrambled over to it, almost tripping on one of the television crew's shoes. She slid the door open and flinched as a large blue face was thrust into hers. It took a moment for her brain to register the scenario, and it wasn't until the mighty Mizuko had disappeared that Rinko finally reacted. "Oh. It's gone. Was that a summon creature? I don't think you can just hand those over willy nilly." She knew about summons in general due to her lineage, but her knowledge only extended to the youkai. "Anyway, um, come on in." She motioned for her date to enter, making sure to swipe her card on the slipper meter so he didn't have to pay for them. Despite her nervousness, she pushed herself to explain her household. "Through the left hallway you'll find the restroom on the right. I suggest avoiding it if you can, but if nature calls," Rinko lowered her voice, "Let me know and I'll let you borrow my all access pass." Her volume returned to normal as she walked towards the family room. "I'll explain how to use it if the time comes. Have a seat." She motioned towards a cushion resting near the low table. She kneeled down on the other side and waited for Ryu to get comfortable. "I think there was a fluke at the television station, because they didn't tell me your name. It sounded like you said mine, but just in case, I'm Tanuki Rinko." Her head bobbed in a slight bow as she looked over her partner. His purple eyes caught her attention first. She wasn't sure if the color was rare, but this guy was the first she'd seen with them. They really stood out from his surprisingly pale face. She wondered if maybe he was sickly, but knew better than to ask.

Rinko's grandfather broke the silence as he entered with a tray. "Hello kiddos. Want drinks?" Rinko shot up from her seat and spoke in a harsh whisper. "Gramps, what did you put in them." The old man frowned, as if wounded by her words. "My love, Rinko-chan. Don't you believe me?" The tanuki girl reached into her elder's apron, pulling out a box of laxatives. "I'm not falling for the same trick twice old man." She dropped the package onto the tray and turned back to Ryu. She clapped her hands together and brought them up to her cheek. "It will be more personal if I make you something, right? I'll be right back." She began walking towards the kitchen, glaring at her grandfather as she passed him. "Don't ruin this for me." The old man chuckled before moving on to his next victims, the camera crew.

Rinko opened a cupboard and scanned the contents. She had forgotten to ask what her date wanted to drink, but assumed tea or coffee would be the likely choice. Unfortunately, she didn't drink them at home, so she wasn't aware of their location. Finally she looked up to find the instant coffee container and box of tea bags on the top shelf. She groaned as she got on her tiptoes in an attempt to reach them. "J-just because I don't drink it d-doesn't mean it should be p-put o-out of my reach." When it was clear that the goods were out of her grasp, Rinko had to take drastic measures. She shakily lifted her knees onto the counter and began swaying back and forth. Her tail was leaving her a bit unbalanced, but she couldn't give up now. She precariously shifted her feet to stand up, allowing her easy access to the aforementioned beverages. She took her prizes in each hand, feeling triumphant that she'd acquired them herself. However, in her hubris, Rinko lost focus. She took a step back, completely forgetting that she was standing on a countertop. Her body began to fall backwards, and all she could think was, Well, this is certainly a rom com stereotype.

 

[Otani Ryuichi]

In the end Rinko didn't seem all that phased by the mystical creature Ryu was forced to call an ally. Instead they seemed rightfully confused as to why Ryu tried to hand him away so freely, so he had decided to use it as a segway into a bit of humor. "Right, I can't hand him out....as much as I want to." He said with a raised hand and a small grin. He wasn't exactly one to walk in when invited, allowing the second camera crew to go on standby for the time being while the white haired youth got a grasp on his surroundings.

'Pay-to-use slipper boxes...interesting.' he thought, putting his heavy boots aside to avoid being disrespectful. Then something was said about an all access pass...to the restroom. 'I'm assuming it's paid as well.' Ryu thought nervously, as he could feel the wad of yen in his right pocket fearing for the rest of the day. Regardless of that, it was partially to be expected to spend everything he brought as that's what he believed guys did on dates, not to mention that Rinko herself seemed to be actively trying to avoid any money being spent through these cheap methods.

"It's a cozy place." Ryuichi said, sitting down beside the low table and looking over to see the camera crew doing their thing normally, urging Ryu to say his name. "Oh. Right. My name is Akaime Ocha- main branch genin." he said in response, giving a small bow in response. Now that he had been given the chance to sit down, and look Rinko over he could note a few things; The most prominent being the girl's large bushy tail and ears. Ryu had definitely seen stranger, so he didn't bother much to note anything about them. She seemed...petite. Of course, she was a little bit younger than him so that most likely had something small to do with it.

Despite his thoughts, another man stepped in to break the silence. He allowed the man, and Rinko to talk in hushed whispers for a while as he scanned where the room's camera team had set up, making sure to have multiple angles and ways to edit in scenes in the final product. After Rinko had gone to make the drinks, he was approached by another man with a mic. "Akaime-San. Is it true you work in a coffee shop?" The man said before he turned to the side to casually grab an offered drink from a passerby disk.

Ryuichi shook his head in response, and answered "Teahouse, actually." with a raised hand, he went through his work routine on days he wasn't doing ninja work. "I'm in charge of keeping the place clean, doing the dishes, replacing day-old pastries with the fresh ones, and getting clean water." He said, before standing up. "But I know how to make tea. I do it for myself, and the early people all the time...maybe I should help Rinko." With that he walked past the now uncomfortable looking cameramen to walk into the kitchen to see Rinko's current situation.

Judging by the angle she was falling from, Ryu assumed that they were trying to reach something high up. Ryuichi was quick to flash a one-handed seal while looking at the falling girl to use Gravitational pull to redirect some of the gravity and give Ryu a chance to sweep under Rinko, and gracefully catch her...at least, that was the plan. instead he hadn't taken into account how much gravitational force he had made himself the focus of, and lost his balance when trying to catch the girl, falling on the ground and becoming nothing more than a living cushion.

"Ow..." Ryuichi said, having knocked some air out of his lungs. "You okay...?"

 

[Tanuki Rinko]

Time seemed to slow for Rinko, though it ended up being the change in gravity that affected her senses. She took the extra few seconds to ponder how she should land. On one hand, she could try and cushion the fall with her tail, but that in its own way would be painful. Falling front first wasn’t a good idea either. If she was recalling her lessons from the academy correctly, falling on her thigh, butt, or shoulder was best. Thus, she shifted a bit in the air, lifting her head slightly to avoid it hitting the floor. However, the impact was less... flat than she was expecting. The groan from beneath her told Rinko everything she needed to know. She pushed herself off from her date with her tail and kneeled next to him. “Sorry! I mean, I’m not that heavy, but I’m not really that light either. Anyway, I’m fine. Your body isn’t really soft so it still kinda stung, but it was definitely better than falling on the ground. Um...here.” She rose and placed the instant beverages on the counter before offering her hand to the boy. From the living room, Rinko heard one of the directors barking out orders. “Zoom in! Zoom in! Add the sparkle filter. Not that one idiot, the heart one. Yeeeeeessssss.”

With that embarrassing kerfuffle out of the way, Rinko grabbed the water kettle from the stove and filled it with water in hopes of drowning out the sound of her pounding heart. “Do you want coffee or tea Ocha-churoo?” She lightly pressed her hand to her mouth, feeling a hint embarrassed that she used the silly made-up honorific that her family liked to use. But she couldn’t help it, his name flowed so well with it. She cleared her throat lightly and turned the stovetop on. “It’s just instant stuff, but it’s not bad. Just because my family’s cheap, doesn’t mean we settle for crap.” Rinko stared at the flames as she lowered the kettle onto them, wondering why she was being so informal. Weren’t girls supposed to be overly polite and nice so the guys want to see them again? While waiting for the water to boil, a silence filled the air. Fearing that her date might get bored, Rinko forced herself to converse. “Sooooo... Genin. Have you gone on any interesting missions?” Good job Rinko, ask about shinobi work. That won’t bring back traumatic memories or anything. Regardless, the question was already out there, so she was prepared to listen.

Finally, the kettle whistled, and Rinko released a breath she didn’t know she was holding. She found some cups and poured the water. Once the instant beverages were made, she led them back to the living room. She took a sip of her tea as her eyes scanned the table. What was once a cleared surface now was covered in pictures of a baby Rinko. There was a picture of Rinko with chopsticks up her nose, another showing her getting a baby bath in a hot spring, and one with her crying over spilt milk, just to name a few. The tea spouted from her mouth as she tried to cover the images with her body. “GRAMPS! THESE ARE INAPPROPRIATE! The TV station will have to raise the parental rating!” She continued to grumble as she tried to shuffle all the pictures together into a pile. Unfortunately, a few slipped off the table, giving Ryuichi plenty of time to look them over. One of the camera men zoomed in on an image of Rinko’s first time walking. The tanuki girl snatched the picture away to add it to her pile. She grabbed the stack and threw it into a nearby room. When she returned, she sunk to the floor, her arms flopping onto the table. She looked to her date with an exhausted, desperate expression. “This was a horrible idea. Please take me away from here. Anywhere will do, I just can’t take my Gramps anymore. Anymore pranks like this and I won’t be able to face any of my classmates ever again.”