I Have Fangs Too! [Private, Yuii]

[Senju Shizuka]

Whispers and rumours passed as quickly as smoke, but the latter didn’t exist without there being a fire, so, in Shizuka’s opinion, there had to be some sort of truth, a core, to every topic going over the villagers’ lips. Not to mention the shinobi, who mostly took themselves quite seriously, being really invested into this specific gossip. From the looks of it the tales didn’t just float around the Academy playground, no, they went into the streets, into the homes and the offices. Perhaps even beyond. It’s why the young Senju had decided to investigate if the house so many spoke of was real. A lone manor between the thick foliage of the Ancient Forest - the home to the strongest of the Shinobi.

Unlike the last time she didn’t randomly run into the forest without preparing for a long trip. With rope, kunai, food, water, a blanket, chalk, and some other things stuffed into the larger backpack she had, she set out with a little map on which she’s been trying to pinpoint the potential location of the mysterious house. According to some it was further to the right, others thought it to be a longer trip than what she had in mind. In any case, it was a weekend of sorts, and with no classes to attend, she had promised her parents to stay safe at Shiori’s house, so she had plenty of time to explore. Hopefully they would never get to hear that Shiori lived at the Academy.. that would be a dangerous sort of outburst to deal with. Shizuka risked it.

Everything for the truth!

Tightening the straps around her shoulders she quickened her pace. For now there was a path to follow, and she hoped that it would be the case until she came across the house, but something told her that it wouldn’t be that easy. No, because if it had been, then so many others at the Academy would have gone to check out the place themselves. Instead, they relied on the information passed on from mouth to ear. Perhaps that’s why it meant so much to Shizuka to see it with her own eyes. Then, after meeting the Shinobi rumoured to be together, to be living there, in the forest, she could either confirm or deny the things said to her. It would give her something to stand on. Trustworthy information she could use whenever attacked by one of the more vicious kids who thought to know everything (and what they didn’t know was argued about with fists).

Angrily carving a cross in one of the trees before continuing on her way, she realized that she probably shouldn’t be so mad. It cost her energy she needed for the trip, and besides, it was better to enjoy the nature here, let the sounds and smells carry her forth, instead of sulk about the class bullies.

Mostly sank away in thoughts she was quite surprised when a rope curled around her leg. A second later it was already dragging her who knows where. Panic rushed through the student’s body, but the training and luck (because of the kunai she was still holding) helped her to cut through the rope. Immediately the motion stopped. Ruffled and confused she sat up, leaves stuck in her clothes and hair, and gripped the weapon in her hand a bit tighter. Her heart was beating fast, slamming against her chest as if trying to escape.

Something here wasn’t right. She felt it as the hairs on the back of her neck rose in unison, knew it because her mind was screaming for her to run, and when her gaze fell upon something akin to a tiger, that’s when the little Senju jumped up and ran like the wind.

Jumping over branches, sliding across mossy spots, she lost her backpack in the progress but didn’t dare to look back let alone return to get it. Her feet carried her through bushes, into the trees beyond. Like an arrow the ten year old flew over the ground, jumping from branch to branch, climbing further with the art of tree walking, sliding away whenever possible, hoping to outrun whatever fanged monster that’s been there.

Only when her eyes fell on a house did she dare to breathe. Thirty seconds were a long time if you thought that you were about to get eaten. So, after having inhaled deeply, the Senju screamed while clinging to the tree she was in.

“Help! Anyone out there?!” Jumping further onto the next branch she heard the crack before her brain registered what it was. All the way down she went, toward some sort of water. Unsure if there were crocodiles there, she found herself letting out a deafening shriek.

**

 

[Kagetsu Yuii]

"Ma'am, I'm really not comfortable giving you those kinds of details." Yuii said, turning a bright shade of pink framed by blue hair, "I mean, I've nothing to complain about but please-."

Yuii knew Kaji was gorgeous, she'd known that from the moment she saw him at the gates of Kumogakure for the first time, but it'd never occurred to her that a large number of other woman might feel the same about her dark haired, handsome love. Tie in that he was one of the three champions for cloud in the soon to be world tournament, and Yuii was starting to feel like she'd married a celebrity. Some comments didn't bother her; yes his suspenders were cute, yes he did have a very enchanting eye colour and yes she was VERY lucky to have him. Others were more inappropriate though, and made Yuii blush. Thinly veiled question about bed prowess, skill or any other aspect of his prowess made her proverbial hackles raise.

The little elderly lady, barely 4'5 is she was anything and certainly shrinking in her old age, looked up from the dozen little fried donuts she'd been packing and grinned. She peered over her little glasses, soaking in Yuii's discomfort, then went back to her task. "I had no complaints about my husband either. That's why I've got eight kids. If you know what's good for yah, you'll make sure he learns to use more than what the gods gave him. You too, and don;t thing pushing one out means you get to go soft!" The lady winked one brown eye, a dusting of flour floating for her lash, and Yuii thought she would die from mortification right there.

"I-... theres a... h-howmuchdid you say those were?" she stuttered out, pulling out double what she knew they were and slapping it on the counter. She snapped the treats away and hugged them close while backing away. "Actually, keep the change, I need to go." Yuii probably left a dust cloud she left so quickly, groceries at hand.

------------

The trip through town was done as quickly as possible via rooftops to avoid any more uncomfortable interactions. Once she reached the forest, Yuii breathed deep and could finally relaxe. "Lucky you just sleep through all of this," she said in a low, singsong voice, talking to the little bundle wrapped lovingly and fairly inconspicuously into a sling against her side, "I think I will make Kaji do the shopping from now on." He'd been amazing, but Yuii was starting to envy the mask he could wear at work.

Yuii was nearly home when she realized the usual bird song was off. The forest had a cautious, breath holding air that only came when humans or large creatures bumbled their way through. Instantly she was on guard and scanning the bushy forest floor for ambush. There were some, after all, that were less than pleased about her recent nuptials. There could be an assassin, a burglar, or even a rabid fan girl turned mad!

Or a dumb, screaming kid.

"What in all the five hells." Yuii grumbled, catching the sudden screams that echoed over the forest floor. Wrapping one arm around her little bundle and tucking her groceries close with the other, Yuii focused chakra into her heels and darted in the direction she'd heard yelling. She heard a splash, and adjusted her route for the small pond on the edge of Kaji's property.

What she found was what she assumed was a student in said pond, soaked, and adrift on a log that could have looked like a crocodile to a scared child who'd forgotten cold blooded creatures didn't like subarctic temperatures. The scene was so comedic she found herself bubbling with laughter the moment she arrived, as was the tiger perched on the opposite side of the water.

"Let me guess. Heard a rumour and thought you'd explore out this way?" she asked between giggles, her eyes trailing up the tree to make sense of what had happened. Yuii had set a good number of traps around the house to ease her new-mother anxiety, it looked like this kid had just met one or two. The branch she'd landed on HAD been partially sawed. "Or are you going to try and tell me you were trying to find the star boy's dojo?"

There had been a few kids that had traveled out this way of late. Most were after Shouyu Hoshi's autograph and a bit of training before the tournament, but the odd brave one had wanted a glimpse of her Kaji. That was why the traps couldn't be deadly; inevitably someone got it in their head that traveling the ancient forest was a good idea and stumbled through their yard.

Setting her food to the ground, Yuii focused her chakra for the second time and stepped confidently out onto the pond to offer a helping hand. The laughing tiger had slipped off into the woods, so it was just the two of them for the moment. Yuii had to bite back another laugh at the poor state of the girl. Maybe motherhood was softening her, but she kind of felt sorry for her.

"Well come on, I might as well get you dry before you run off and get eaten by something. You know the forest has genetically mutated bears and shit, right?" If Shizuka took her hand, Yuii would start leading her back to the house after collecting her bags again.

 

[Senju Shizuka]

The water was cold, but the idea of losing an arm to the sharp teeth of a crocodile was worse. Struggling to swim away from the large, dark, creature, she tried to see what else was around her in the water but didn’t get a clear view on anything. Mostly there were plants, dirt, and.. A tiger on the side of the pond. She panicked more knowing that she was either to be eaten by a crocodile or a tiger. At least that was until she realized that the rough structure her hand had accidentally hit during her flailing had been tree bark. From that moment the little Senju chose a different approach. Clinging to the floating log, she managed to stay more or less in one place while catching her breath and spitting out some of the water. With the immediate threat of losing a limb gone she would have to use her time in the water wisely and come up with some sort of plan to get out of this predicament.

Felines didn’t like to swim, right?
So.. the tiger wouldn’t bother if she stayed here, in the middle of the pond, but that wasn’t a real option. Maybe she could use a water based Jutsu to scare it off?.. or a lightning one to knock it out?

She hesitated, unsure if the water one would really work. The lightning surely wouldn’t with her being so far away from her target. A beam might, but before she could climb onto the log a woman appeared on the side of the water. Apparently she didn’t care for the tiger and the latter decided to retreat into the forest, probably far away from the humans.

With relief written all over her face, Shizuka didn’t dare to do much more than nod out of fear of being left behind here, alone, with tigers running around the area. So, when the blue haired lady offered her a hand, the little Senju gratefully accepted it in silence. The second question had been met with a little shake of her head, but she wasn’t entirely sure that the woman had seen it. In any case, she wobbly followed over the water, thanking all the gods for her having taken the time to learn to water walk, at least a little. She would have to practice that sometime soon. Just for occasions like these.

“Bears?” She wondered aloud having finally found her voice when the two were almost at the porch. Clutching the hand she held onto a bit harder, her gaze soon found a tiny human wrapped to the woman’s side. So.. .. they had a baby?! They did! The tiny, squirming thing, with its little nose was definitely a baby.

Dripping wet and with wind biting harshly into her skin, she shivered a little while trying to get rid of the water in her sleeve by swinging it back and forth. Her clothes were heavy. The earth clung to her sandals, feet rapidly turning into a pair of mud balls.

“You.. you must be Yuii-san?” The blue hair.. the house in the middle of the woods.. she was his wife, wasn’t she? Was it wife?

“S-sorry about t-that.” The girl stuttered but not because she was extremely shy, she simply was cold.

**

 

[Kagetsu Yuii]

"Yes, bears. And wolves, and cougars, and giant insects, and rabbits that will really try and take a chunk out of you. Even some of the trees can be real assholes." Yuii sighed, her voice level and serious while she fiddled with her pocket for her keys, "and yes, if I must be anyone I must be she." The house, nestled into trees and fenced in stone walls that were designed to keep deer out was cute, quaint really, and nothing one would expect two of the shinobi upper crust to call their dwelling. While very well taken care of, the outer walls of natural wood and stone looked to have been in place for some decades. There was an old hand pump and well in the garden just visible from their angle that had a modern trough places beneath it. The windows were charming stained glass along their edges, a style that had gone out of fashion sometime before the start of the tech error and they had a proper, once actually used, cellar attached to the back. A small stable attached to the home housed a pair of horses, one of which eyed them with unnatural intelligence.

As they approached, Yuii's head began to swivel watchfully from side to side, scanning the treeline. Absently, she kicked the gate as they passed into the main yard. There was a small cacophony of metal scraping on metal and rustling of dead foliage as lines snapped taunt across the yard and traps disarmed. "Don't step on the third stone, " she warned, jutting her chin towards the perfectly ordinary round stone pathway to the door, "or the seventh, but don't leave the path." Yuii did exactly that, reaching the door in safety and unlocking it with surprisingly simplistic keys.

The inside of the house reflected the outside. Warm, homely, with a lack of technology brought on by the lover's shared love of nature and their busy, distraction-free lives. A pair of well-worn love seats were visible from the small hall entry, a fireplace and a rug that had seen some natural wear. To the right, only meters away, was a large country kitchen with its original stone flooring that had been modernized without losing any of its earthy charms. Yuii removed her shoes, pointedly glancing at Shizuka's own drenched ones, then reached her arm through the wall to their left and fiddled until there was another series of clicks. Once they finished she dove into the kitchen to deposit her groceries.

"I'll find you a towel," she offered, returning a second later only to veer off into the main living space and beyond. "Have a seat by the fireplace, just uh, on the floor for now?" She called again over the creak and slam of a cupboard door.

The rest of the main living room was as tidy and comfortable as the rest. A set of stones and oils for sword care, a few dozen half-finished arrows and a sturdy hairbrush were foremost on a shorter utility table. A trio of cats laid out on the top of bok cases, eyeing bost humans sleepily. A tv was tucked away into a corner and radio balanced on a window sill. Neatly stored scrolls, thick reference texts and colour coded folder shared a corner with a pair of well worn folding desks and an array of office materials that were clearly split for two. Even their jackets, varying by season, were hung over each other, all placed on the last day of their seasonal need. It all spoke of a home shared for a length of time well beyond what the rumours in Kumoagkure had said.

"So what spurred you into the forest?" Yuii questioned from a room beyond, another set of doors opening and slamming shut, "Don't tell me that adventure dares are becoming popular again- I'd thought the warnings we issued last year had taken care of that foolishness. Any further out beyond this point and there really are some huge beasts." Another slam, then soft wailing as the baby Yuii had been holding awoke. She quieted within the minute though, and Yuii soon returned with her on one shoulder and a towel on the other that she tossed to Shizuka.

The fire was the first order of business. Yuii set the baby in a little fabric chair she pulled out from behind one of the couches then busied herself with piling logs and setting kindling. No chakra or jutsu, at least not until it came to setting it all ablaze. "I guess you're hungry too, huh?" She asked as little Umkeo stared through her little lashes at the stranger. She had her mothers extreme shade of blue for eyes, but the thick fringe of black hair definitely came from her iconic anbu father.Definitely a beautiful baby.

 

[Senju Shizuka]

Thankfully she had been able to follow the woman’s direction without slipping. Who knew what type of horrible traps she had laid out in their front yard? The last thing Shizuka wanted right now was losing a limb or falling into a pit full of stakes. Or perhaps snakes.. With the tiger wandering around the area she had no idea if Yuii’s previous comment was the truth or a lie to scare her. Shivering both from the wind and the idea of all types of wild animals surrounding them, she hurried to catch up with the lady who she had quickly labeled as ‘safe’.

Standing still once inside, she awkwardly looked around until her eyes crossed Yuii’s. Oh, shoes, right, she nodded before taking off the sandals which looked like they’ve been through one of the ninja wars. Their soggy sides hung sadly as she placed them against the wall while trying not to leave too many spots. It’s why she rolled up her pipes as well, in a weak attempt not to get water and mud onto the cosy looking floors. Wiggling, she took off her jacket as well, keeping it in her arms while making her way to the fireplace. There she gracefully sank on the ground, placing the folded jacket into a little pile close to the pit where -she hoped- a fire would soon come to life.

Patiently waiting for the promised towel she scanned her new surroundings. Everything she could lay her eyes on seemed to point out that there were two people living here. So, the rumors had to be true. Well, the baby, whose voice was echoing through the house now, appeared to be living proof of that. “I eh..” She started, studying the cats she had just noticed the way they studied her. “I like to see things with my own eyes before believing them..”

Catching the towel she curled into it like a cat would, eyes curiously on the baby whose attention was on her. It seemed that the tiny human was as suspicious of her as the cats of the house. A foreign element in their otherwise known territory. Shizuka recognized the feeling. Understood it.

“What type of beasts?”
Huge ones?
“Bigger than bears?”

She blinked, eyes still on the little child whose eyes matched Yuii’s but whose hair had nothing in common with the woman preparing the fire. Comparing them in silence didn’t last for long because her stomach decided to mimic a tiger’s roar. That, of course, had Shizuka shifting, wrapping her arms around her midriff as if that would help. She pressed harder, eyes displaying light confusion when the lady of the house posed her latest question. Unsure if she asked her or the baby, she figured that the baby couldn’t talk so.. “A little,” huddling further in her towel she cleared her throat a bit, warming up slowly. Enough to realize that this little meeting might have enormous consequences for her if this lady would inform the Academy.. or her parents, or worse, both.

Thus… she had to play it smart.

Rubbing her face clean with the side of the towel, she smiled at the baby. “What’s.. their name?” Every mother loved to talk about their child, right? Besides, perhaps talking about the baby would distract her from Shizuka’s appearance here and allow her to forget asking all types of uncomfortable questions.

Man, perhaps she should have done some research on what this legendary Kagetsu Yuii was like before coming all the way here. ‘Scary and incredibly strong’ didn’t really count when it did nothing to help the situation. Though, she didn’t appear that scary if you asked Shizuka. In fact, she looked pretty, didn’t yell loudly, moved gently and elegantly, and had some sort of kindness coming from her which put the little Senju at ease. Maybe it had to do with the way she handled the baby; careful and with warmth. This had the green eyed girl believing that Yuii wouldn’t beat her up or feed her to the tiger outside for intruding her territory and leaving some wet spots on her kitchen’s floor.

“Yuii-san,” she shifted into motion, sliding closer to the fire with its pleasant warmth and scent of wood. As the warmth was settling in, her courage grew. “is the father home?” Wide, green eyes stared curiously at the Sennin, hoping to get a quick look at the other legendary shinobi.


**

 

[Kagetsu Yuii]

It hadn't escaped her attention that Shizuka was avoiding explaining herself. Yuii was being left with speculations and guesses instead of the clear answers that her rank usually demanded. And yet, she knew better than to start barking orders- her time at the academy had taught her that. A child divided from the pack wanted a friend, not an adult 'enemy' that made commands. Food first.

"Good," she answered as the fire burst to life from the tips of her fingers, "I am too." The Sennin rocked back to her feet and brushed her hands against her linen sunshine yellow shirt. She scanned the room thoughtfully, then glanced back at Shizuka and Umeko who had become entranced with her hand. Of course, she was hungry, wasn't all academy aged child? Yuii vividly remembered sneaking a second dinner, or an extra snack from the little barracks within the Torre Celeste that housed the Anbu guard. It was often the most hardened shinobi that was quick to offer a bit of candy or a bit of fruit. They had to be hard on each other, young and old, to make sure they were capable warriors. Kindness wasn't a kindness, it was a death sentence, but there were practical ways to care. Like food, or making sure they stayed away from dangers they weren't ready for yet.

Instead of hurrying for the kitchen, Yuii lingered in the main room. Shizuka needed the time to warm up, and Yuii wasn't comfortable leaving a stranger of any age near her infant daughter and so she found other tasks to do. Humming off key to herself, Yuii wandered, opened curtains, rearranged items that weren't really out of place, then stopped to stare at the fire to pass the time. There wasn't much light left to the day, but what was danged across the floor in a lovely way. The baby would need to be fed soon as well, she realised, and bedtime wouldn't be far off.

As if the thought of her prompted the question, the soggy student thought to ask the baby's name. "Umeko," she answered, "Her name is Okada Umeko." Kaji's last name, and a clear indication of who had fathered her baby. It was as much a declaration of their relationship as their marriage had been. Naturally, Shizuka then asked about her new husband."No, he's not home," she answered, wondering what Kaji would have to say if he was there. He wasn't much better with student-aged kids than she was, but he had a commanding presence that made his subordinates want to talk. This one would have spilt her guts by now, Yuii was sure of it. Instead, she had to play games.

"Venison stew alright?" she asked, quickly changing the subject before the question of where the father was could come next, "You stay there and get warm." She plucked Umeko up, who babbled happily at her mother and both set off for the kitchen. Yuii lapsed into her same off-key humming, and there was a cacophony of pots banging against each other and cupboards opening beyond.

Which may have been how the tiger snuck in without notice.

Orange and black wrapped death slinked from the shadows of the bedroom hall, moving in silent grace. From the Sumatran summon's mouth hung a backpack, Shizuka's backpack, which ultimately was what betrayed her presence as its contents shuffled and clanged together. And yet, the giant cat didn't seem to care that she had been noticed. The bag was deposited on the floor feet away from the fire, and she sat back to watch the interloper with surious yellow eyes. "You dropped that," she admonished with a purr, "Did you forget?"

 

[Senju Shizuka]

Unfortunately, or perhaps luckily, he wasn’t. There was a brief flash of disappointment visible on Shizuka’s face but it was gone soon enough. The warmth of the fire was pleasantly tickling her skin, the baby curiously eyed her (she eyed her back), and Yuii was calmly doing things around the room. It was peaceful here, and if it hadn’t been for the wet clothes the young Senju would have tried to nose around a little, literally.

As things were now, however, she nodded enthusiastically at the mentioning of stew and remained where she was. Staring in the fire while bringing her hands a bit closer to it, she wondered if Yuii was always this calm. At the same time she didn’t see why the woman would have been truly mad. It wasn’t as if Shizuka had crossed a border or crawled over one of the off-limits fences. This was just a house, and even while it belonged to very important shinobi, it was still just a house. A place to live. And she hadn’t come here with bad intentions. She had only been curious about whether or not the rumors were true.

Sunk away in deep thoughts of rationalizing her little trip and looking at it from different perspectives (while figuring out excuses for various scenarios so she wouldn’t end up in too much trouble later on), she didn’t notice the tiger until her own backpack hit the ground. Turning she blinked in confusion for a long moment before jumping onto her feet and stumbling backwards. Her foot slid over the floor, got stuck in her wet jacket, and a second later she found herself sitting on her bum again.

“W-what?” the kid gasped wide-eyed. Unsure if the tiger had spoken or she was hallucinating, Shizuka cautiously pulled back her legs just to make sure that the tiger wouldn’t bit into them. By then her brain knew that the backpack and the large, orange -black creature were real.

“Thank you,” hesitant, slightly nervous and somewhat afraid, she replied with a quiet voice. A part of her wanted to scream and run away, but the curiosity she felt pointed out that if the tiger spoke it had to be intelligent. Those capable of reason didn’t randomly attack others, she hoped.

“If you don’t mind, I’ll take it now, ms..Tiger?” Slowly sliding over the backpack, she opened it to find a pair of dry pants and a pullover. She didn’t pack another shirt, but did have some food, rope, kunai, a little blanket, and some other things she had thought might come in handy during the trip. Taking the clothes out, she started to change. Once done with that the wet things were placed on the towel in front of the fire. It was so much better now that her clothes weren’t all wet and cold.

As a sign of gratitude she dug through her backpack, found some of the food she had brought with her and pulled out the little package of dried fish. Carefully unpacking it, she then awkwardly looked at the tiger. Putting the food on the ground seemed quite impolite, but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to risk losing a couple of fingers. That’s why she ended up putting it on a nearby table, smiling shyly while gesturing at the food.

“You can have it, if you want to. I’ll go find Yuii-san.” Not feeling like standing between a tiger and its potential meal (out of fear of becoming the meal), she quietly snuck out of the room, eyes searching and scanning the place.

Finding the blue haired woman wasn’t hard, all Shizuka had to do was follow the noise. The latter brought her to the kitchen in a blink of an eye. It was already starting to smell nice. Shizuka’s tummy rumbled, and she hoped that it wasn’t loud enough for anyone to hear.

“Can I help you with something?” she wanted to know with curious eyes, then added. “There is a talking tiger in the other room.”


**

 

[Kagetsu Yuii]

The tigress preened and licked her enormous paws; all the while keeping her golden eyes on Shizuka. She switched to her second foot for grooming as the girl changed her clothing, then made for the fire when it was made available. Or she would have, if not for the fish offered before her.

"If I must, I shall accept your offering," she purred, eyeing the dried goods with greed, "Run along."

The Sennin's kitchen was more modernized old stone and wood. Wood slab counters, stone tile flood worn by generations of feet and a generously sized pantry stood side by side with a humming fridge, toaster and blender. the counter wrapped in a "U" formation, through the room, creating a small island that probably once allowed for extra helping hands but now had a pair of stools tucked beneath it. To the side of all this was a solid kitchen table which Yuii sat at with Umeko half dazed in her lap.

The scene Shizuka stepped into was more fantastical than culinary, as to her eye knives moved on their own chopping vegetables at ninja like speeds, liquid ingredients were measured and added, and the meat was seared under the less than attentive eye of Yuii. The blue haired shinobi, rather than pay attention to the cooking, was busying herself with stuffing her mouth full of the last of her delicious doughnuts and washing it down with a pitcher of chocolate milk. She was mid gulp as Shizuka arrived, and unapologetically finished another ten massive gulps before answering the youngster.

"Nah, everything is taken care of," she answered, though as she did one of the knives was thrown down mid-chop through the carrots, and the rest paused as if to see what Yuii would say, "Or I suppose you can chop vegetables... because apparently kids helping is a good... thing?" That seemed to satisfy the whatever she had as kitchen help, and everything returned to its/their frantic preparation. Yuii waved Shizuka towards the cutting board, and picked up another of the doughnuts.

"Oh is Oniyuri back?" There seemed to be a bit more to the tale as Shizuka was clothed differently than she'd seen her minute prior, "Sorry, I probably should have warned you she would be slinking about. She'd about as normal to me as this chair these days." The tigress had been hanging around constantly since Umeko's birth. She and the horse had finally seemed to agree on something, as they both hovered around like toothed and hooved fiends ready to defend the little one. Yuii didn't mind so much, but her rare guests found being snarled at odd.

"Who are you calling a chair?" the tigress snarled around a mouthful of dried fish she kept clamped between her canines,"This one has shown due respect, she is worthy of feeding." With extraordinary grace, the great cat knocked back another of the kitchen chairs and hopped her great weight onto it. Daintily she put the fish down, then picked up the top piece with a single nail to pick at it. "All my future offerings should be prepared thus until I tire of them."

Yuii scoffed in return, "You know dried fish gives you awful wind. Also, I'm pretty sure I already agreed to feed her." she laughed, wagging her sweet at the tiger.

"Not 'my' problem." the striped feline replied, grinning sweetly, "The round foods will make you fat. I hear mates don't like fat females." The retort was ended with a bite of her fish and just a bit of extra tooth flashing.

Yuii's face pinched, beaten, "Of course it's not." she sighed, turning herself away to look at Shizuka, and more importantly ignore her catty friend. "Listen, avoid talking animals okay? They're not worth the pain.- Did you change clothes?"

 

[Senju Shizuka]

Chopping vegetables was something she could do, she thought. While mom never really asked her to help with dinner, she had set plates, arranged the flowers, put the food in little cups, and served tea before. Alright, none of those things actually involved cutting things, but she was a kunoichi to be! Wielding sharp objects wasn’t something she was unfamiliar with. That’s why she grabbed one of the knives which looked fairly sharp. Handy enough to fit into her hand the thing was easy to use. On the counter, next to the cutting board, she found some of the vegetables yet to be slices through by whatever jutsu Yuii was using to cook. It was one of those scenarios which were interesting to see, but she couldn’t really keep on staring. There was work to be done.

Caught mid-cut, she turned, eyeing the tigress from before who appeared to go by the name of ‘Oniyuri’. It seemed that the huge feline was enjoying its ‘offering’ as she called it. That brought a little smile to Shizuka’s lips. Lazily her green eyes studied the intelligent creature with barely hidden curiosity. Then she turned to nod toward the Sennin whose snacks were anything but healthy. The girl’s nose twitched a bit - she had to make an effort not to laugh about the way Oniyuri had jabbed at her .. who was Yuii to the tigress?

“Yeah, I have.. eh Oniyuri-san here has brought me my backpack. I eh.. kind of dropped it when she caught me off guard.” That’s how I ended up falling into that pond in the first place, she wanted to add but didn’t. Blaming it on the tigress wouldn’t really solve anything. Besides, she was dry, mostly, and about to get food. Holding some sort of grudge right now would be more of a drag than anything else.

“That was very kind of you,” she turned to the tigress, “thank you, again.” Nodding, with the knife still in her hand, she was about to turn to the cutting board again when her curiosity seeped through the jade of her eyes. Clearing her throat a bit she hoped that asking about the connection the two shared wouldn’t be too out of place. Then again, she was already inside of the Sennin’s house, so things probably wouldn’t become more ‘out of place’ anyway.

“Are you guys like hmm partners or something?” Obviously not the ‘love’ partners type, but.. some sort of partners, or perhaps friends?

Leaning against the counter as not to turn her back on the ones she was talking to, Shizuka waited for what either of them would decide to tell them. There was a certain degree of impatience to her shifting stance, but she kept it mostly under control.


**

 

[Kagetsu Yuii]

Yuii watched as Shizuka chopped her vegetables with her chin braced on her hand. Intermittently she kept taking bites of the 'round food,' not one to be put off by the threat of her mate's lost interest. Weight gain had yet to be a problem for her, rigorous training and a hard life say to that. Even if she should gain weight Yuii was quite certain that if her body plumped and curved, her newly wedded husband would take no issue. There were more important things to reflect on, like Shizuka's curious arrival and the evasive nature of her answers. A dozen different scenarios satisfied how a girl, dressed for travel, and excited to see her of all people had somehow ended up in Yuii's pond. None of them sat well with her.

As the blue woman reflected, she left Oniyuri to hold up the conversation."Of course. Kindness is among my top ten best qualities," the tigress answered Shizuka snidely, stretching out her great mass of muscle at Yuii's feet. Automatically and absently Yuii messaged her heel along her striped spine while with the same dainty care, Oniyuri continued to pick apart her small treat of fish, set on enjoying every morsel to its last crumb.

And so, it was the tigress who answered Shizuka's question first, her great maw stretched into a strange cat-grin. "She is my pet," she spoke around her fish, laughing above Yuii's aggravated sigh, "Many of my kind will contract a suitable human or three in order to have access to your ever so clever resources. I, personally, enjoy the food." Her smile didn't waver, even when Yuii kicked her squarely in the back of the head.

She seemed taken with the girl, Yuii realised, watching as the tigress took so much extra care with her movements. She was showing off, eating up the bits of praise and for one being kind. This time her motives weren't obviously buried in irritating Yuii either. It was almost bittersweet as the tigress finished her meal, crossed her paws and fixed Shizuka with a gentle stare that reminded her of their early relationship. Oniyuri had always prefered the company of human children to adults- that was what she had formed a bonded contract with Yuii as a pre-teen. The tigress liked the random, strange nature and boldness that came with youth. She had even mentioned looking for new humans to bring under her 'purview' now that Yuii had young of her own- though until this moment Yuii hadn't taken her seriously.

"You're an Academy student, right? What are you being taught right now?" the sennin asked, pushing Oniyuri's strange behaviour to the back of her mind. She needed to strike on something to get the girl taking, figure out her motives. Make certain she was as innocent as she seemed.

 

[Senju Shizuka]

Blinking somewhat surprised at the mocking reply she got from the tigress Shizuka managed to grin lazily in response. Shifting a bit, her stance changed slightly, all of her attention slipping from the graceful creature to the legendary kunoichi in the process. Well, at the moment the woman didn’t look as threatening as she surely could be. The sight of Yuii chewing on her food with seemingly no care in the world allowed Shizuka to open up a bit, or at least plan to after having her nosy nature satisfied first.

“Oh! So you guys have a deal, like.. eh” She gasped, eyes widening a little as she recalled one of her teachers talking about the strongest of the Shinobi forming contracts with creatures from other realms. “A contract!” The excitement she felt flowed from her and resulted in her waving around with the knife she used to cut up the carrots. Her mother wouldn’t have been proud. She put down the knife, eyes shining a little. There was newfound awe toward Yuii and the tigress.

“Yes, ma’am.” Nodding, she threw a glance at the tigress while trying to hide the look of upcoming boredom when thinking about the Academy. There were plenty of things they were being taught, but the facts weren’t as exciting as learning to perform various jutsu, and that last part was limping behind if you asked the little Senju.

“Well,” she started out, rolling her eyes to the side while thinking as was her habit. “we’ve been practicing surviving in the wild.. I’ve passed the tree-walking test! Hmm, we’ve got some basics on how the more advances elements work.. there were also history and geography, and stuff.” The boring bits, she left those out. “I like ninjutsu a lot, and I’ve been learning how to control wood, dad’s helping me out.”

Not one to boast she did feel rather pleased with herself now that she was able to summon vines and logs. Aside from drawing whenever possible, during the classes, she only enjoyed them when they were learning something new regarding ninjutsu. Being out in the field was a plus too, otherwise she found herself sleeping in the caressing rays of the sun that seeped into the classroom through the wide windows.

“Did you use to have a favorite subject, Yuii-san?”

Returning to chopping up the remaining carrots she then made her way to one of the chairs and flopped onto it with little grace, yet, somehow, the motions still appeared elegant. Naturally nimble and smooth in her movements Shizuka always managed to look very in control of her body, even when she moved suddenly or in an unexpected manner.

Carefully stuffing her feet underneath her while eyeing Oniyuri, she kept her hands lifelessly in her lap. Her fingers itched to touch the tigress, but she didn’t dare to ask, yet. Her green, burning eyes betrayed her, though. She slowly blinked, and calmly hummed to herself with the sound not being unfamiliar to a purr.

“Do you guys know each other for a long time?”


**

 

[Senju Shizuka]

Somehow the tigress appeared to be more talkative than Yuii. Not everything said had been as smooth as it might have been, but in the end the evening was a success and Shizuka hadn’t been reprimanded for her sense of adventure. Even during the meal, when silence had crept in-between them - she had been afraid that’s when Yuii would bring up the topic once more - they had simply enjoyed it together with the food. Shizuka was thankful for that, and felt quite at ease in the presence of the Sennin by the end of their little encounter. With a polite bow and the offer of helping her with the baby by playing with her - should she want to - the little student took off once again. This time her direction was toward the village. A part of her thought that the tigress had followed, at least for a bit. But if she had, she had stayed hidden.

Fed and full of stories the overly curious Senju arrived home way too late, having already forgotten about the lie she had told her parents. In her excitement, she didn’t even realize why her parents were surprised by her arrival in the middle of the night. This required a complicated lie she felt too tired for.. so, instead, she promised to explain everything in the morning.


[Topic Exit]