Out of Sight [Private|Yosuke]

[Senju Shizuka]

Bastard

After so much time and not even a single letter he was supposed to be somewhere in the city. It was one thing to be Siu and become trapped during a mission, it was a whole different matter, however, when you simply left with saying nothing at all. He hadn’t been out of the village, he hadn’t been tasked with a risky mission in a neighboring country still torn by a former war. No, he had been around, been at home, then, out of nowhere, he had disappeared. Nobody knew a thing about it. Everywhere she had gone doors had been closed into her face. Everything had pointed into the direction of an unfortunate incident of sorts. An overestimation of him by his higher ups or a task turned lethal. She wasn’t sure why the whole case had been shrouded in silence. In the back of her mind she had played various scenarios reaching from his death being a mistake of a fellow Genin who was getting protection to Yosuke trying to go missing and getting erased in the process. Not that she had been able to come up with a reason plausible enough for it to be true. Why in the world would he have wanted to leave the village he loved so much? His parents? His friends.. if they meant anything to him, of course.

Piles of questions had been there for days, weeks and months. She had liked him from the start, but back then she still had her parents who’ve made sure that she didn’t realize the ugly truth. With her life turning and twisting she had moved on faster than during the next cases. Siu’s case had been harder, her parents’ had barely been possible. Nowadays she had a clear view on the events shaping her life. Perhaps that’s why she was quite mad with him. To return as if nothing had happened, well, he better had a good excuse for it, because she was sober and cooking.

Dangerously lit eyes burned a path toward the place she knew he had to be at. Her slender, pale fingers were wrapped into a tight fist. There was a desire to hit him right in the face. She hoped that she would be able to hold that desire from becoming reality - fights between shinobi were never appreciated. Still, she couldn’t promise a lot. Things had become quite dire lately. Aside from that, decisions had been made that pointed her life into a certain direction. And while she couldn’t quite blame him for the choices she’s made, he, indirectly, was one of the puzzle bits that formed the picture of her life. It pissed her off. All the angry bits wanted to point out how reckless behavior like his affected others’ lives.

Would he even care, though?

That bastard.

People moved away as she proceeded to slide through the street with the grace and aura of an avalanche. Cold and unstoppable, Shizuka’s face was a mask of retribution. The moment she saw him - the pink hadn’t faded - she growled from behind her bared teeth.

“Yosuke!”

* * *​

 

[Shimamura Yosuke]

Four years, four long and emotionally arduous years. It’s been four years since Yosuke has shown his face in Kirigakure. When he left, in the guise of the night, without uttering a single farewell to anybody he was merely a boy. Rambunctious and lively at thirteen, unable to control his chakra, yet living his life on his own lively terms. A free spirit, calm by nature, yet wild when spending times with his pals. Specifically Shizuka. They would always run and play with one another, and on cold nights like the night he vanished, he would think about his friend. The tomboy that had somehow rung the strings of his heart, became his best friend, his comrade, and surprisingly, at that childish age, his first little crush. He missed his Uncle, but there was the reassurance in the back of his mind that his Uncle, as a former Shinobi, knew that his nephew was out there on some important task, yet his friend was left dumbfounded and in the dark. Four long and arduous years without Senju, Shizuka.

Since he left, his life changed drastically. He picked up on the art of wielding a sword, his chakra control improved drastically, and he became a man. Albeit an Academy Student, Yosuke was at a level of a Genin, thanks to the Shinobi who for four years was his ‘Mother’ and he, her ‘son’. There was a number of things he grew accustomed to, and he made a fair number of friends, some of them being lovers, yet none of them lasting very long. It was safe to say that he almost forgotten about Shizuka. Until he received the news that it was time to go back a month prior to their departure.

He was enthralled, overcome by joy, a euphoria that could only be ruined by the realization that he would be coming face to face with all of those that perhaps considered him dead. Including dear old Shizu. That feeling in his gut, the anxiety he was stricken with and unable to shake off. Shimamura Yosuke was going home.

So he did, in a month time, he was home just as abruptly as he left. In the guise of night, he snuck back into his Uncle’s house before he was home from one of his nights out with the boys. Yosuke waited for him, looking almost unrecognizable if it weren’t for the pink hair and lack of facial hair on his still somewhat effeminate face. His hair was untied, and draped over his black long sleeve thermal. It was cold, just like the night he left, and even a little misty but the fireplace was on and chipping away at the logs. There his Uncle found him, and greeted him with a bittersweet half smile and a pat on the head. That was that, the easy part was over.

Word spread quickly however, because on the next day many who recognized him smiled his way, or looked twice to assure themselves that that was truly him. Old classmates from the academy were jaw dropped, some said hello. Vendors that he would frequently waved him in, and asked him where he was and Yosuke would smile, shrug it off and simply say, “Around.”

He knew word would get back to Shizu, and he wanted to see her, just not yet. He wasn’t prepared. What would he say? He couldn’t possible answer her with a measly, “Around,” comment and the mission was supposed to be tight lipped. No one was supposed to know, or that could be his own life at risk.

“Why is this bothering me so much?” He whispered to himself, eyes fixated onto the dirt path under his feet, as he trudged to the only place he found true comfort four years prior. His training spot in the forest. How could the thought of Shizuka have his heart racing, his skin crawling, his stomach aching. He put his hand on his stomach, and took a deep breath as he walked through the hidden location of his training spot. His eyes hovered over the charred tree bark, and fingers pressed against the punctured locations of the trees that his shurikens once struck.

“Shizuka...I’m home,” He shook his head and sighed, “No, that’s not good enough. Uhm…” He thought to himself looking up at the hovering tree tops, “Shizuka, long time no see!” He tried forcing a smile then grunted, shaking his head once more.

His hair drooped over either end as he reached into his pocket, pulling out a rubber band to tie his hair up. That’s when he heard a rustling, and that familiar voice that haunted his dreams rung through the air once more. The same name he heard almost every day four years ago.

He turned around slowly, icy hues shocked at what they saw. But surprisingly the nerves were gone, his breathing settled and his eyes drooped refusing to show the shock he felt for too long. He slowly turned to face her. His scabbard was strapped loosely around his chest, hanging on his back, his toned arms showed through the tight shirt, and his chilling breath danced in the air. Shimamura Yosuke, a dead man walking.

“Shizu…” His voice was deeper. There was a tension in the air, and everything seemed to freeze up. Time wasn’t moving, the forrest was dead silent. There was no gust of air, and it no longer felt cold. It was just him and her. And she wasn’t happy. But he was, he couldn’t help but feel some sense of joy deep down. “...Long time no see.” He half smiled, but it quickly faded with the tension.

“I-” He froze for a second, biting his tongue, wondering if he should say another word. “I missed you.”

 

[Senju Shizuka]

Honestly, is that all he had to say after having been gone from the face of earth for so long?!

Only a couple of options were left here. Either she punched him in the face or lashed out another way. Well, basically there was very little choice. One way or another everything came down to her being quite violent. Whether it was verbally or physically was yet to be seen. She couldn’t decide as she moved closer what she wanted more. To growl and tear into him with words or to-

As her hands flew forward she found herself attempting to push him in the chest. It seemed that subconsciously she had already chose to fight this battle with her fists. Angry green eyes left an almost poisonous track as she studied him from head to top. From what she could see he wasn’t missing any body parts. Yet.

“Oh, do you expect me to say that I’ve missed you too?” Fairly hurt, but too angry to show, she gestured for him to take a step back before she would push him again. Her emotions were running wild mostly because she had been so restless lately. Siu had been so good to her, so close to her, and in the end there was a pull toward the outside world that didn’t allow her to settle down happily.

Now he was here. Another reason to try to be a part of the Cloud to be that happy kid she used to be when they had trained together, but everything seemed to be coming too late. His appearance was too late. Siu’s return was too late. She had already cut her ties on a level higher than herself. Being in Cloud was simply necessary. Now, with them around, the idea of choosing was tearing her up. They, however, didn’t know. Perhaps, the anger of her wanting to walk a different ground was only caused by herself. Not by them.

She bit her lip. It was so complicated. Unfair, maybe. Shutting her eyes she pressed her thumb and index finger against the bridge of her nose. Squeezing tightly, she tried to get rid of the upcoming headache. The thirst was worse when she thought about it, when her mind was in a turmoil of possible opportunities and future choices. For now, she had no answer. So, she had to push it down, shove those complications aside and perhaps look at an old friend the way she should have from the start.

Of course, he would justify her anger with his own reasoning. One might be mad because they cared. She did, but the reaction didn’t come from that place. It came from her own troubles and the dilemma she might face one day. An addict could only survive without their drugs for so long.

Inhaling deeply as if to calm her senses, she sighed. Then ,with effort, her eyes came up to look at him once again. Less aggressive now, her tone spoke of her wanting to communicate with him about the time that’s passed. Surely he would want to catch up as well, even if he most likely had his own secrets nowadays.

“Where have you been?”

* * *​

 

[Shimamura Yosuke]

He stood still, unmoving as she approached him. She was still as short as ever, and she hardly changed much for appearance. Her hair was longer, her pigmination was rather pale, but her emerald hues were still as vibrant as he remembered them. Pissed off at the moment, yes, but still bright with color. He on the other hand had grown fairly well since he left, he was rather short four years prior, and since then he’s grown about four inches now standing at 172 cm. He looked down at her as she approached him, and watched both her hands come up against his chest in an attempt to push him back. He was nudged back a bit, but stood his ground for the most part, not changing his facial expression.

He continued to watch her with droopy eyes, there were empathy behind his icy hues, and a frown subtly appeared on the corner of his lips. He opened his mouth, like he wanted to say something, but the words wouldn’t come out. He was speechless. Her pale skin was met by the embrace of his misty breath shifting in the air. No words, nothing. He knew she couldn’t take that after all his time being gone. But what else had he to say? He couldn’t say much of anything else, and he could only hope that she understood that. The mission was not to be spoken of.

He could see her physically struggling to control her anger, even with the second push that this time caused him to take a step back. Still no reaction to his face. He was completely void of emotions it seemed. He wouldn’t speak, no words, no physical signs of emotion. But what could he say. He wasn’t prepared for this. He had a month of preparation and yet what could he say. But finally she looked up at him, their eyes meeting, and asked him the question he feared. Where was he?

“Senju Shizuka...you haven’t changed a bit, you know that?” He finally smiled, not the bright, childlike smile of before, he was too nervous for that. It was easy to tell. He unstrapped the Scabbard, unhooking the sword, from his back and leaning it against a tree. He held his hands over his head and stretched his body out, “It’s a long story. One that I wish I can tell you, but sadly, I can’t.”

He let out a sigh, and turned around to face her again, “But you have to trust me, if it were up to me, I wouldn’t of vanished the way I did.” He walked back up to her, “You have to believe me.”

He paused as there were a few seconds of silence, and he couldn’t bear it for long as he broke it quickly, the words stumbling out in rushed spurts like she would have his neck at any moment, “I know it wasn’t right of me. You were my best friend. We did everything together,” There was the boyish smile she remembered, and he laughed full heartedly at the memories that played through his head, but it quickly faded. “All I can say is I’m back now, and I’m never ever leaving like that again…and-”

He looked down at the ground, a slight tint of pink roused up onto his cheeks, “I just want what we had back. The friendship we had. I know it’ll take time but I need it back, those four years away from everyone and the thought of how you felt haunted me the most.”

 

[Senju Shizuka]

*​

An explanation too meager to accept was put before her, yet this vague and meaningless bit of information was all she would get, she knew that much when he mentioned it not being up to him. “Hah,” the sound was mixture of breath and short laughter. Of course this was a shinobi thing to happen. One vanished in the middle of the night to never come back, and if they did, as was in this case, they could not talk about it. A couple of years ago she would have found it nonsense. Might have grown offended and even walked away, but right now she was aware of the world they were a part of. Secrets crawled up the walls at night and tried to suffocate you during the day. One couldn’t possible know when or where they had to go and whether they would be a road to take home. Or an opportunity to do so. It’s why she should have been euphoric for him standing where he was - in front of her. Life, however, had spun a tale where Shizuka was no longer sure if him being alive made things truly better.

“You can’t say that,” she pointed out, eyes narrowing. “You don’t know if you’ll have to. None of us do.” It was quite simply - orders were orders. One way to go around them would be to become the one issuing them. Not a simple feat to accomplish.

“There is no turning back time. It’s unlikely that we’ll have back what we used to have, because we’ve both changed. You might think I’m the same because you’ve grown more than I have, but looks are deceiving.” Surely she didn’t have to tell him all that. No matter how familiar they looked to one another, they had missed so many moments of each other’s lives. Essential bits that might have made their friendship stronger. For now only some rusty bits remained. Childish building blocks of hopes and dreams long shattered.

She took in the sight of him. While not a tall man, he was well on his way to become one. There were still plenty of paths the two of them could walk. The only thing she had to do was let things run their course. For her there was no way of going back to the place where she had once been - she sighed. Then, slowly, her eyes fell upon his weapon. Perhaps if she tried to put away the many feelings colliding in her chest then she would be able to focus on the present and stop worrying about the future.

“So.. you’re a swordsman now?” She assumed that he could talk about that.

Detached of one another as their past few years have been, there was probably quite a lot they still had in common. She wondered what he had learned while away, what he had seen and heard. Snippets of information and stories of travels were something she assumed wouldn’t endanger a lot. Unless he had spent years and years doing things which had to remain hidden forever with no time for himself. That, however, would have been quite hard, even for a shinobi, so she hoped to still hear of his time away. Discontinuity wouldn’t be the problem. He didn’t necessary have to mention names or describe faces. Small pieces of his life elsewhere would be enough for him to slowly connect again. Hopefully.

She took it slowly, though. Mostly because she wasn’t sure which parts of her own life she wanted to share.

* * *​

 

[Shimamura Yosuke]

He watched behind sorrowful eyes, as she unraveled the truth behind his false promises. This was the life they accepted since their days in the academy. The Shinobi way, a life full of uncertainty of what waits ahead. Promises for the future are for those living the life of a civilian. A life that he left behind long, long, ago. He already failed his best friend, and there was no taking it back, nothing could possibly fix what he did. “I know Shizu,” He sighed, and paced over to the tree where he rested his blade, and plopped up against its roots, “I know.”

He smiled when she inquired about his sword, and released a chuckle. “This old thing?” He laughed again and began patting the blade. Then he unsheathed the sword and looked at it, mesmerized by how beautiful the blade still was after so much time. “Yeah I picked up on the art of fighting with a sword not too long ago, maybe about two years prior.”

“It was tough at first, I won’t lie. You know me very well Shizuka...well,” He looked up at her, feeling nostalgic and for a slight moment felt happy again, “You knew me pretty well. When it came to learning something new I’d become impatient and frustrated. But after a while, I took on to it. It really helps, a lot. It’s like an extension of myself.”

After a few seconds of silence he continued explaining himself, not being too specific as to get him into trouble, “The person who taught me showed me that this can be used as an extension of my being, and a way to control my own chakra. Something I suffer in doing, and always suffered with. Hell, that person had the nerve to call me a pyromaniac.” He laughed again and looked at her, “Can you believe that?”

He put the sword away, and patted the seat next to him on the dirt floor, “What about you Shizu, taken up anything? How have you been?”

 

[Senju Shizuka]

Carefully listening to the story he spun she wondered if he knew how sad it had sounded when he had said that she used to know him well. It was only the truth, because they hadn’t seen each other for so long, but it was a piece of reality with some sharp edges. Through the profession they were in he had been cut out of her life and that of the entire village for years. One couldn’t simply come back and fall into flow after all that time, or could they?

“Nothing aside from the necessary,” she shrugged. There hadn’t been any outlandish or incredible arts she had mastered during his time away. At least, none she thought of as special. Every shinobi had their own speciality and she had hers.

“Well, fire was always your thing, so I can’t blame them for calling you that.” Assuming he had only grown better wielding it, she figured pyromaniac wasn’t a bad nickname to give him.

“Unlike you, I’ve been around.” Perhaps it sounded a bit harsher than she had meant it to, but at least she wasn’t angry anymore. The previously felt pressure and urge to punch him had seeped back into her skin. No longer did her eyes shine a poisonous green. She gave him a soft smile.

Turning away to see some of the marked trees still being around she shook her head. They too had grown. Pieces of bark were marked here and there, odd shapes of trunks could be found here and there. The force they had used to push around the plants with, well, life had used its own to squeeze and shape the path they had taken in a similar way. Marks were left everywhere.

“It’s been a bumpy ride.”

At the moment it was a bit too early to jump into the deeper state of things. She felt nothing for talking to him about that. Perhaps he cared to share more about his trip or show off some skills he now possessed - probably the swords ones. Not that she wasn’t curious about where his fire jutsu had taken him.

“Care for a walk?”

* * *​

 

[Shimamura Yosuke]

He sat down beside her and learned forward resting his knees against his chest. His pink hairs covered his face, but he was smiling faintly. Yeah, he wasn’t around, and it was hard to come to terms with that. If it was that hard for him to get over the fact, he could only imagine how she truly felt. “I’m sorry Shizu,” He glanced her, “I honestly am. But words won’t do these last few years any justice.”



He stood himself back up, not wanting to dwindle on his absence any longer and instead spending time with his old, old, friend. “Of course,” He picked up his sword, putting it away into the cover, “Lead the way.“



-closed thread-