Open Disappointing Surprises and Consolation Prizes [Req. Senju Aria]

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

[Continued from here: https://ninpocho.com/threads/duel-of-fates-dual-contract-search.66668/]

The journey back to Konoha from the Valley of the End was, naturally, a long one, made all the more unpleasant by having to undertake the journey at dusk. Keiyaku had donned his mask again and ordered Moru to stay a few paces ahead of himself and Aria, the Inuzuka duo both paranoid they might be attacked by someone or something as the evening progressively darkened. Ultimately, the trip would prove uneventful; no rogue shinobi attacks and, for Aria, no 'mythic weapon of legend'. The village gates loomed overhead at long last, allowing both boy and dog to breathe a small sigh of relief.

"Home sweet home," Keiyaku mused jauntily as he lead the way down to the Red Oak District, looking for one of the open-late noodle bars he knew had opened up recently.

"So, since I'm buying," the ANBU initiate began, taking off his mask once more and stowing it away, "why don't you tell me where you heard about this weapon? I kinda remember Akio saying he wanted to show you something all Senju-related, right? Was it something to do with that?"

He stepped foot inside the restaurant, watching Morutobu eagerly bound up to the bar and leap onto one of the stalls. The owner never looked completely thrilled to have a dog so close to where people were eating, but the mutt's owner always left a good tip to make up for it. Keiyaku took a seat and motioned for the Senju girl to follow, ordering something for himself, and of course, a big plate of beef strips for the eager Shiba puppy. It felt good to take a load off after all the travelling and running about. Though he couldn't relax completely; he was still shooting Aria covert glances, then glancing back at the owner, worried she was still in 'challenge the dojo master'-mode.

"Hey, if you're a Senju, how come you didn't know Akio's gramps before you met him the other day? Did you grow up in another village?"

[MFT]

 

[Ayeka]

Aria's day hadn't been the best today in terms of meeting expectations leaving her to walk dejectedly alongside Keiyaku while watching the bobbing ass of a Shiba drift in and out of the growing gloom of the ever darkening forest. She looked up at the older boy walking next to her and wondered why he was acting so tense since to Aria's senses the forest was alive with gentle waves of natural chakra allowing her to thread her way through the trees in a manner that made it seems they were moving out the way for her. Eventually they arrived at the village gates and the tension finally bled out of the dog boy and his partner as Aria cocked her head in confusion at the home sweet home remark as she felt the forest was more of a home than the village.

"I heard two teachers yelling about it in the academy ground. As for the Akio kid.... Er that's confusing but it would be easier to say I'm not like those weird Senju cuddling plants in their compound. They chased me away pretty quick when they figured that out."

Aria response was simple and factual in tone as she honestly didn't feel any kinship with her fellow Senju except for Akio himself which was weird and confusing in general but not something she could figure out on her own nor could she be bothered to brood about it. If it wasn't a fight it kind of fell to the wayside in Aria's brain honestly and speaking of fights as she followed Keiyaku into the restaurant the owner froze up for a moment while seemly to break into a cold sweat at the little girl but seemed to relax as she followed Kei's example and ordered a vegetable broth while being completely oblivious to the owners discomfort as she sat down.

"I'm from a branch clan or so I've been told. No one at the Senju compound knew of them. I left after they deemed me talentless and I just ended up wandering here. Why so interested where I'm from anyway?"

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

The moment the food arrived, Morutobu got stuck right in, despite being relegated to the floor to eat. Keiyaku was stirring his broth pensively with a chopstick as Aria explained where she had come from and why she had been so far out of the village's bounds. His brow furrowed. For the most part, he was slightly astonished at how neutral she sounded about the whole thing, given the fact she'd just told him about being thrown from her clan's ranks.

"Talentless? That.... seems harsh," said Keiyaku, slightly lost. Having come from a much more loving family community, the idea of being tossed out for something so petty was a borderline alien concept to him. He ruminated about what to say for a time, stirring his soup absent-mindedly.

"So, you've just been on the streets? How've you been surviving all this ti-?" He asked, catching himself as Aria probed at why he was so interested. With a little smirk on his face and a trace of ill-disguised pride, he gestured to the uniform he was wearing.

"ANBU officer, see? My job to keep the village safe. Gotta make sure you're not some sort of foreign spy, haven't we?"

He took a moment to glance down at Moru, too engrossed in food to care what either of them were saying. Keiyaku had a slurp of soup. Another thought struck him.

"You're at the Academy though, like you said. Who's your sensei? They taking care of you, I guess? What made you want to enroll at the Academy if you've been living out on the streets?"

Maybe it was a bit odd to be asking so many questions, but he just couldn't help feeling concerned; not just for her personal circumstances and safety, but also her violent tendencies. He'd definitely have to keep an eye on her, but he didn't exactly like the idea of being a little girl's probation officer.

 

[Ayeka]

Aria just shrugged at Keiyaku's words about her clan being harsh as it was just the way it was. Instead she grabbed a pair of chopsticks and with a respectful bow of her head and whispered thank you for the food she began eating at surprisingly sedate pace when compared to Moru currently making a mess on the floor. She rolled her eyes when he talked about her being a foreign spy but really Aria had nothing to say to that. She just just lucky that the Orphan act within the village had quickly allowed her a place at the academy as soon as it was determined she was from a clan that originated within the leaf village. When Keiyaku asked who was looking after her at the academy Aria just sat and thought for a moment. She didn't really have a sensei as she was on the general course path and she wasn't a standout in any way in terms of skill so she had been left to her own devices for the most part.

"Hmm I train by myself if that's what your asking. As for where I'm staying, I got nice tree outside the village that's looking after me."

Keiyaku then asked why she wanted to be a ninja and join the academy but Aria didn't have an answer to that or an answer she wanted to share so instead she kicked Keiyaku's chair enough to shake him up and barked out.

"What's with the third degree anyway!.... Ha if your this serious for the job already maybe your headbands too tight."

Aria said with a mischievous grin and joking attitude as she tried to change the subject.

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

"That why you enrolled at the Academy? Just going with the flow? Yeah, I can definitely get behind that id- Hey!"

Keiyaku almost choked on a noodle as Aria rather unceremoniously kicked his chair, thoroughly making him jump. He let it slide, and settled himself back down. Moru, at this point, was just licking sauce off an empty plate on the floor. The Inuzuka boy, cracking a smile at her teasing, made rather a show of pretending to loosen the headband which was tied snugly around his upper arm. On another note, he was surprised how she had such proper table manners for someone who claimed to be living in the wild.

"There, better?" he retorted, rolling his eyes but smiling nonetheless and sparing a fleeting glance for the puppy down below, "besides, I gotta be serious. Can't disappoint our sensei by shirking our duties, can we? I'm not givin' you the third degree, loony sage, I just wanna know what you're all about in case I ever have to wrestle you for a bag full of shop-window signs again!"

Moru's head perked up at this point, giving Aria one of his best open-mouthed smiles and letting out a few barks and growls. Keiyaku translated.

"Yeah, Moru makes a good point. If you're living in the trees out there, you must've run into some of us at some point," he said, gesturing to the warpaint adorning his cheeks, "in my clan, we spend, like, 90% of our day out in the woods, foraging food and stuff."

 

[Ayeka]

Aria ruminated on Kei words as she thought on whether she had ever seen a Inuzuka hunting in the words but couldn't think of a single time she had ever seen but that could be because when she was in the woods she wasn't foraging instead she was high up in the trees sleeping among the leaves and when she wasn't sleeping she was in the village training or eating at the academy .

"Do you see people walking past when your in bed?"

Aria finally settled on a truthful but casual response as she didn't have a clue if she had actually seen an Inuzuka or not. Aria happily began moving on the broth now that she had finished her noodles as she looked over at her dining companions again.

"Its not like I'm a bandit you got to watch or anything you know. I just didn't get taught a lot of the common sense stuff while growing up."

Aria said in reference to Kei's previous comment.

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

Keiyaku blinked; he didn't fully understand what she meant with that question. Walking past the bedroom window at night, perhaps? He finished his food before answering.

"Not usually; we live pretty out the way," he replied, cricking his neck to look down at Moru who, at this point, was rolled over onto his back, getting belly rubs from one of the other restaurant patrons. Shaking his head and rolling his eyes, he turned his focus back on Aria, giving her a look as if to say 'little attention hog, ain't he?'

"Ah, I'm just teasin' ya," the boy said, flashing her a mischievous grin and hand-waving away her words like a cloud of midges, "I just don't think I'm gonna be forgetting Konoha's Great Shop WIndow Heist anytime soon."

"Welp," he interjected suddenly, sliding some cash over the counter to the owner and nudging Moru with his foot to snap him out of his reverie, "if you get into any more trouble, give me a shout; I wouldn't wanna miss the party. Maybe we'll end up doing a mission together once you're out of the Academy - it'd be cool to see what you can do on the battlefield."

Cuffing Aria playfully on the shoulder, he whistled for Moru who fell into step beside him, and the two of them headed for the door.

~Topic Left unless stopped~

 

[Ayeka]

Aria rolled her eyes at the mention of her sign thievery again as Kei moved to pay which she appreciated since she didn't have any funds and then bade her goodbye with a gentle smack on the shoulder which just made the girl grin as Kei talked about the battlefield.

"Yeah see ya around........and thanks for the chow."

Aria said the second part a little bashfully as she watched the Inuzuka leave with his pup.

'He's not so bad after all.'

Aria thought to herself as she got up to leave so she could head back to her tree and get some well deserved rest.

[Topic Left]