These Lifeless Eyes {Nobu]

[Ryu Hime]

It was during the middle of the night and Hakuren was doing her daily visit to the Devil’s Lair. The establishment looked like something one might see in the Desert Crown, not in the Red Light District. It was a massive and well designed building with multiple levels. The first floor contained both a public bar and the entrance to the bath house. Past the greeting desk a finely carved wooden staircase that led to the upper levels.

Hakuren was visiting the bath house part of the building as she normally does this time of day. Naturally she would be in the women’s side of the bath house. Despite being blind she could read the plaque by the doorway which had braille. Normal people would tell the sides apart from the large signs over the doors. Stripping in the changing area, which one would walk through before entering the bath, she would take all her clothes off including her blindfold.

Not many has seen her eyes before because she is always wearing either a black sash or headband over her eyes. There are a couple of reasons to this: first off it is a advertisement for her blindness. By seeing the blindfold people instantly recognize the fact that she is blind even from a distance. The other reason is that people find her eyes unusual and sometime uncomfortable. Her eyes were an unusual shade of orange due to becoming a vampire, but what scared people was the fact they look lifeless. They were motionless and clouded and people seem to act differently with her eyes shown. So she keeps her eyes covered with bathing being the few exceptions.

 

[Uchiha Kouhei]

Nobu had a grumpy look in his eyes as he wandered the streets of the Grand Palais. Nobody really noticed a kid like him in a place like this, even at night. Rich parents or no, his clothes were worn and scuffed, the blue color of his vest almost faded to grey. He looked like just another penniless urchin, regardless of the filled wallet in his pocket. Academy training was really taking its toll on him, and he'd wanted time away from the suffocating attention of the family elders. He'd slipped out of his room window and off the estate grounds before anyone had noticed him. Nobu knew he'd get a good chewing-out once he returned, a repeat of the lecture he'd gotten dozens of times already, but he didn't much care.

The sign for a bath house caught his eye and soon directed him towards one of the best-looking buildings he'd ever seen in the Grand Palais. Seemed like an establishment worth his time. The prices weren't too high, and the people of the Grand Palais wouldn't ask questions about a kid wandering around this late at night. Before long, Nobu had paid for his entry and was wandering into the bath house proper. His thoughts wandered as he entered the changing room and started stripping down. His academy training was doing well, but his grades weren't as high as he knew he could get them. Moreover, while he'd mastered a few Jutsu already, they were low-level. Lower than he knew he could take! Nobody wanted to teach him anything interesting, though. "Just stick to your classes," they'd told him.

With his clothes folded in a neat pile, Nobu entered the bath itself. He was still brooding as he walked over to a spot and started lowering himself in. Normally, Nobu was an active and loud-mouthed lad, but at that point, his average grades kept him from really acting as self-absorbed as he normally would.

Of course, those thoughts quickly drained from Nobu's mind, much like the color drained from his face, when he noticed the one other person in the bath. A woman, raven-haired and with orange eyes. The boy felt sweat on his forehead, and not just from the heat of the bath water. A small plaque on one of the walls confirmed his fear. "Women's Bath."

 

[Ryu Hime]

Sliding open the door separating the changing room from the bathing area, she enters in as naked as the day she was born. In her left hand was a bucket containing shampoo, soap, moisturizer, sponge and towel. From the sounds of things she would guess that she was the only one currently using the facility. After closing the door she places her right hand on the wall, she walks around until she hits a mirror. The mirror would mark the location of one of the washing station. Kneeling down she would feel for the stool that would be sitting in front of the facets. Finding it, she sits down and begins to clean herself. First she douses the sponge with hot water and then applies some liquid soap to it. She was rubbing her arm with the sponge, covering it in tiny white bubbles, when another person enters the room.

Her back would be towards him, but the mirror in front of her did reflect her figure. Though her chest was not as endowed as other women her age, she did have a little something that would make it quite clear she was female. Her head faces the mirror with a blank stare that might give one chills. Being blind she had no way of knowing that this person should not be here and had no reason to suspect he was a boy.

From the sound of the footsteps across the tiled floor and the fact the person goes directly into the huge bathtub, made her assume it was a child. With a smile she speaks to the new-comer with her back still facing them. “You know little one, you are supposed to wash yourself before soaking.” Hakuren then reaches to the side to grab a neighboring stool. It took a couple of tries, but she found it and drags it closer to her. Patting the seat of the stool she would invite him over, “Come here, I will wash your back for you.”

 

[Uchiha Kouhei]

Nobu froze before he could completely lower himself into the water, looking over at the woman with a panicked look on his face. She'd noticed him, that much was for sure. She didn't seem to be telling him this was the wrong bath, though. Maybe she didn't mind because he was just a child? At first, he didn't respond, too shocked to really formulate a reply. When she reached over to the stool, though, he noticed her struggle to get it, along with the way her eyes weren't actually looking at his reflection in the mirror. They didn't seem to be looking at anything. Was she... blind?

"Oh! Uh, r-right!" he finally blurted out, pulling himself out of the bath again and walking over to the woman. In the mirror he could actually get a glimpse of her eyes. A unique orange color, but cloudy and unfocused. They did look like the eyes of a blind woman. Nobu wanted to sigh in relief but managed to keep himself from doing so, since it would give away that something was wrong. If he didn't arouse her suspicion he might be able to get away with this.

Too young to really care much for looking at the woman any further, he hurriedly sat down on the stool. "Thanks. For offering to wash my back, I mean." he said awkwardly, readying a sponge to wash his own arms and legs with in the mean time. "You're blind, aren't you?" he asked, looking over his shoulder. His childlike mind didn't even consider the possibility that she might not want to talk about the subject. He also didn't consider how lucky he was that his voice hadn't broken yet, and that it could easily be mistaken for a girl's.

[MFT]

 

[Ryu Hime]

Nobu was in that age range where the voice has not deepen yet, which was to Nobu’s advantage. Could Hakuren picture a boy with this voice? Yes, but she would assume it was a girl base on the location they were in. So far there were no signs for Hakuren to detect the truth as of yet, but things could change as time goes on. Even if things does go well and he gets out of this in one piece, it only delays the inevitable. Hakuren has quite the memory and will likely remember his voice the next time they meet. He may be safe now but there could be trouble down the road.

Hakuren gives a smile as Nobu walks over as acceptance to her offer. “I have a younger sister a little older than you. She’s the black sheep of the family.” The Yamanaka have been known to possess a higher state of mind, having a clear and sharp mentality one might even call Enlightened. As a family of Yamanaka, Hakuren and her siblings seek enlightenment, however the path to such a goal varies from person to person. Here each sibling took a different path. “Yuki believed there had to be a shortcut to enlightenment. She did not want to spend years in search of it so she decided to make a pack with a demon. She bound her soul to an Okami, a wolf demon, and sacrificed her powers as a Yamanaka for what she believes is enlightenment.”

Hakuren shakes her head with a deep sigh. “Children are so impatient these days.” Hakuren slides her butt closer to Nobu, but ends up going a little further than she would have liked and ends up toppling the stool. Hakuren fall into Nobu with her soft mounds pressing up against her back. She quickly regains her composure and puts the stool back in place. “Sorry about that. I think that was a little too much skinship there.” Sitting back on the stool she gets to work scrubbing his back. “To answer your question: yes I was born blind. May I assume you are a student at the academy?” During her brief incident she did note that his back was firm for a civilian girl, but not for one training to be a shinobi.

 

[Uchiha Kouhei]

Nobu lapsed into silence after asking the woman about her blindness. She seemed satisfied with doing the talking for now, which Nobu was alright with. The more she talked, the less he had to, meaning that there was a lower chance for him to say something stupid and blow his cover. Something about a little sister that the family didn't like because she was looking for a shortcut and made a deal with a demon for it. Hearing that mildly disturbed Nobu - as far as he knew, dealing with demons was usually a fairly bad idea, or at least that's what the stories said. Nobu was glad to know that he had no need for such deals - his blood already held more than enough power. No need to grovel for some monster to get more.

With his mind wandering to the thoughts of demons and monsters, Nobu was taken completely by surprise when Hakuren toppled over and pressed her chest against his back. Too young to really appreciate the situation, Nobu mostly felt himself panicking. All it took was one bad touch and the boy would be busted. She'd probably kick his ass to the Kazekage Tower and back if she found out he was a boy who'd entered the women's baths. In reality Nobu had no way of knowing how the woman would react; it was simply his mind jumping to conclusions.

When she got off him after what felt like an eternity, he let out a quiet sigh of relief. "I-It's okay, it was an accident." Nobu said, trying to get himself back into a state of calm again. Easier said than done with how panicky he was feeling. She asked him a question. Talking. Yes, talking would be good right now. "Yeah, I am! I've been studying really hard and training a lot and working to become a real shinobi. My genin exam should be soon, and I'll prove that I'm ready. I can already use over thirty different jutsu!" he rambled, mostly trying to fill time with what he knew best; shinobi stuff. "I'm best with wind release, but I know a lot of water and lightning jutsu too! I'm kind of bad at throwing shuriken and firing bows and such, but other than that I'm all ready!"

[MFT]

 

[Ryu Hime]

Hakuren smiles remembering her older sister now. Ai took a spiritual route to enlightenment. She believes that true enlightenment can be only achieved through divine means. Ai has dedicate her life to the local shrine as a priestess to Mother Suna. Though she tries to resist judging the paths of her other siblings, she often find herself arguing with Yuki who chose a path almost opposite of hers. “I might be able to help you out with that.” As a priestess Ai had to learn the art of archery as there are a couple sacred rituals that require it. Hakuren has spent time watching her older sister practice both through the eyes of animals and the eyes of Ai herself.

Turning the handle of one of the facets, she begins to run some warm water. Casting a water whip justu she creates a bow and a kaburaya from the running water. The kaburaya is a special arrow used in the hundred-arrow ritual. “Here let me show you the proper stance.” Hakuren stands up with bow and arrow in hand. As she stood facing the wall to the other side of the room. She places the arrow into position and pulls the string back as far as it would go taking a deep breath as she does so. With a exhale she release the arrow and it whistles through the air. The noise it makes is said to ward off malevolent spirits.

She then holds the bow out for Nobu, “take it.” There was no arrows for him to fire at the moment and that does not matter right now in Hakuren’s mind. For now she just wants him to lean how to properly stand with a bow. Of course there would be great risk in this for there would be only one way for her to judge his stance, but luck has been on his side so far. Will he be willing to test his luck or refuse her offer in fear of his luck running out on him.

 

[Uchiha Kouhei]

While the woman's helpfulness was touching, Nobu was still in a tizzy. He wasn't sure whether he wanted to accept the offer for training, since any repeat meetings after this one would increase the chance of her finding out about his actual gender. Nobu strongly considered turning the offer down just to be sure, and making his escape with some sort of excuse. If he just told her he forgot his homework or something... She probably wouldn't believe him, but he'd have a reason to leave nonetheless.

Nobu blinked in surprise when the woman suddenly turned some of the water into a bow using a jutsu. That was unexpected. "Alright." was all Nobu could say when Hakuren offered to show the correct stance. Too young to care to ogle the woman's body as she got up, Nobu instead shuffled back a bit and let her display the proper maneuvers. When she pulled the arrow back, a single sudden realization dawned on the white-haired boy, a particular flaw in the idea of firing a bow inside that made him speak up. "Are you sure it's safe to--" But it was already too late.

Nobu winced as the arrow flew off with a whistle. Looking away from the damage it would probably cause and instead towards the woman, Nobu rubbed the back of his neck. "I, uh... I suppose learning might be good, but I think my talents lie elsewhere. Besides, I don't think this is the best place..." Even though the woman was blind, Nobu still made a small gesture towards the bath around them.

[MFT]

 

[Ryu Hime]

Hakuren has a unique birth defect. Her body has a tendency to dispose of red blood cells to generate more physical energy to be later converted into excess chakra. While this excess of chakra does allow Hakuren to make her jutsu more powerful, the birth defect has the side effect of chronic anemia. Hakuren’s Chronic anemia suddenly kicks in and she could feel it and was going to walk back to her stool. Unfortunately she accidentally steps on bar of soap, slips and falls on top of him. Unlike last time he was facing towards her and thus her body was pressed against his front. Nobu would likely be panicking, but would then be thanking Mother Suna for she was passed out before even touching him. Hakuren may be in an awkward position that would have given away his secret, but she was unconscious and was none the wiser.

 

[Uchiha Kouhei]

Nobu was a little worried when the reply didn't come immediately. Had she figured something out? Nobu shifted his weight from one foot to the other, worried that he just got busted somehow. Well, he was about to get 'busted' in some way, but not the one he expected. Unaware of Hakuren's anemia, Nobu could only bite his lip and hope that Hakuren wasn't about to come down on him with all the fury of an adult shinobi who just found out she'd been bathing with someone of the opposite gender.

Though she wasn't that much taller than him, her sudden slip-and-fall still provided Nobu with a good look of two approaching globes, followed by the rest of the woman's body and weight. In any other situation the boy would've handily caught the woman and found her a place to sit, but due to the wet floor he failed to get his footing and went right down with her. Knocking his head against the tiles made lights explode in the back of his eyes for a few seconds. When the lights started to dim again Nobu was worried for a fraction of a second that his vision had been affected permanently, but he quickly realized that the pale, peachy pink color filling his vision was Hakuren's skin.

"I swear it's not what it looks--feels like!" Nobu exclaimed in a panic, only to realize that Hakuren was well and truly unconscious. That was plenty to make Nobu freak out even further - not only was he now in the women's bath, he was now in the women's bath with an unconscious and vulnerable woman. Even as a child, he knew that this was not a particularly good situation. In a way, it was perfect. Perhaps it was about time for him to make his getaway.

Before long, Nobu had carried Hakuren back into the dressing room and covered her up with a towel. He should really warn the staff. First, though... Three handseals later, and Nobu had transformed into a somewhat more feminine appearance - one without dangley bits. One without much of anything below the waist, considering Nobu had no idea what girls had down there, but that distinction should not matter due to Hakuren's blindness.

[MFT]

 

[Ryu Hime]

Hakuren was completely naked under the towel he threw on her. So if Nobu wanted to know what a female had down there, all he had to do is sneak a peek. True the two of them might be alone now but this is a public place so others might come and they are unlikely to be blind like Hakuren was. Despite being carried to a new location Hakuren was still unconscious. Perhaps this was a golden opportunity to get going while the going was good. Nobu has been lucky so far. Dare he press it?

 

[Uchiha Kouhei]

Nobu forced himself to calm down, taking deep, slow breaths instead of the rapid hyperventilation his body was telling him to perform. Hakuren was completely unconscious, which meant that Nobu was safe for the time being. Besides, he'd already taken a big enough risk with dragging her into the changing room without transforming first. On the other hand, the woman was passed out cold for a reason Nobu didn't know about. Even if he had kind of caught her, he wasn't sure what the reason was for her sudden unconsciousness.

Any other kid might have realized the sense of responsibility they had at this point, but Nobu wasn't too sure. Warning the staff was the right thing to do, but Nobu also suffered from a bad case of self-importance. In a way, getting away from this woman without her realizing that she'd just bathed with a boy was more important than actually making sure she was fine. At the same time, was Nobu that big of a scumbag?

And on the note of being a scumbag, was he a big enough one to peek under the woman's towel? His disguise did feel somewhat... incomplete, he had to admit, but was his thirst for knowledge bigger than his own desire to get off scot-free from a bad situation he'd created himself?

In the end, Nobu decided to prioritize his own safety over his curiosity, but without leaving the woman to suffer whatever kind of brain damage or oxygen deprivation she might be suffering from. Within moments Nobu had clothed himself in his boy's clothes. Making sure his transformation remained up, he left the changing room and immediately ran to the nearest adult he could see. Feigning panic (though some of it was genuine), he tugged on the woman's sleeve and told her someone had passed out in the changing rooms. For just a second, the stranger looked away in the direction Nobu was pointing. When she looked back, (s)he had disappeared, courtesy of fast feet and a cleverly-used False Surroundings genjutsu.

Nobu didn't stop running until he was almost home again, at which point he stumbled into breathless gasping. No bathhouses for him ever again.

---

OOC:
MFT
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